Hello from St. Louis! My name is Allie DeSmet and I’m a first year Spanish teacher at Confluence Academy- Walnut Park. This is my first adventure in blogging, thanks to a friendly push (shove) from a colleague. I’m not extremely sure how I’ll utilize this blog yet, but thanks for the warm welcome!

If you’re a regular reader/blogger of your own, feel free to leave a comment with your twitter/blog/etc. so I can get connected to you. I’d love to hear what other teachers/thinkers are doing.

Additionally, please leave the twitter handle or blog of another person you think I should follow.

Thanks for the help and every abounding words of wisdom! Nice to “meet” you!

I visited my new school today. Impressed by the building, the atmosphere and most importantly the people. Happy kids learning a lot. Happy adults seeing it through. Happy me to be a part of it next year.

As I sat at a coffee shop near the school, I started to ponder what this next iteration of learning will look like from my perspective. I taught Spanish K-8 for 3 years, but this past year I’ve been working with some really cool 2nd graders at the same school. This next step is a little different–just 7th and 8th grade Spanish. I’m excited to build a Spanish program from scratch, one that does everything I wasn’t able to do with my limited experience before. I’m excited to incorporate the world into my classroom, in ways I know my future students (with whom I had lunch today) have yet to experience.

I then started to think about what the physical space of my classroom will look like from their perspective. I hastily decided upon 5 c’s I wanted to form the foundation of my design principles.

I want my room to be configurable.
I want my room to be caring.
I want my room to be comfortable.
I want my room to be challenging.
And I want my room to be conducive.

Configurable because the space must adapt to the array of things we’ll do.
Caring because I think relationships more than anything, and I know that’s what my students will need.
Comfortable because I want it to be a space where students can take risks, feel like they fit in, and most importantly create and communicate to the best of their abilities. I want the space to be empathetic to human needs.
Challenging because I want it to be a place where we have some pretty difficult conversations about worldview, and because I want the rigour of my classroom to meet the expectations of students who are used to high level intellectual work.
And conducive because I want it to be an apt space for communicative work.

What are your design principles? Looking back on this year, which of those principles carried more import over the course of the year?

Tonight the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals begin the 2012 season, a campaign that is fraught with longings for the people we miss (one of the best managers and best players in the history of baseball) and interesting expectations for what might be possible in the future.

One comment from tonight’s broadcast stood out to me, about how baseball players always have butterflies on the first day.  ”If you don’t have them, you need to find a different job.  I’ve tried to explain the feeling to people, but they just don’t understand.”

I think educators and students know this feeling very well.  Each year, August brings a fresh set of expectations for the year ahead.

This is exciting (and a little nerve-racking), but another comment from a player is apropos to this part of our “season”: “everyone just wants to settle into the grind”.

At this point in the year, moving towards the “end”, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “the grind”.  But this is the best time to take risks and to innovate.

So I’m going to start tomorrow with the same excitement as the St. Louis Cardinals had today, and I’m going to do my best to catch my stride when my students need me the most.

It doesn’t take long to realize that students are all in their own places in learning.  No two students are the same (obviously), and teaching in a “one-size-fits-all” way does little to push students to reach their own potential.

We spent the first 2 months really building culture.  We developed the sort of character we expected in our classroom and students collaborated on norms of behavior and environment.  We got to know each other as learners, but more importantly as humans.

Then we took the plunge into indivualization.

Using NWEA data, DIBELS reading scores, formative assessments as well as informal observations, I discussed with students where they were in reading and in math.  Students knew their goals and the work that was necessary to reach them.

We then broke our time together into 4 areas: 1.) Problem Solving/Learning Skills 2.) Creation 3.) Foundation Work and 4.) Individual Paths.

Our math block looks like this:

1.) Math Minute (Foundation Work) (5 Minutes)

2.) Problem Solving (Either student created story problems, brain teasers, mind benders, etc.) (15 minutes)

3.) Mathematician Work (Learning skills, vocabulary, method, algorithms, organization, etc.)  (5 Minutes)

4.) Creation (anything that demonstrates learning that can be shared with someone else in a fascinating way) (varies)

5.) Individual Work (ixl.com, now mangahigh.com, and small group work with me) (30 minutes)

Rather than having all students sit in the same class learning the same thing, it makes more sense to focus on some shared skills (the ones all Mathematicians know) and creation (so we can share with the world what we are learning).  Then, because all students need different things, the big bulk of the time is spent with students practicing the skills they need to be successful on their own timetable.

This allows me to spend more time with my students who are missing huge gaps in their math knowledge prior to 2nd Grade skills, as well as developing higher order skills with my students who are ready to do 4th grade type work.

It works like this:

Students walk into the classroom with their Math Minute.  Some students are mastering their “Plus 1′s” facts, while others are working on their multiplication facts, already having shown 100% mastery of all single digit addition and subtraction facts up to 20.

After the minute and all work is collected, students work on problem solving activities or develop story problems that must be solved using a step-by-step process.  Since this is a more difficult activity, I model a lot of the process and slowly release responsibility to students to ensure the highest degree of organization in thinking.  As students begin to understand the process, I take more of a backseat, offering guidance to students when they run into roadblocks in their thinking.

Then we work on using math vocabulary to ensure we are sharing the same terms for the types of thinking we are doing in the Math classroom.  We apply this vocabulary to problem solving and different scenarios to ensure they will be best prepared for 3rd grade and beyond.  We then take this work and create videos, comic books, songs, etc. so that we can teach other people how to be mathematicians too!

The largest bulk of class is individual time.  My tier 1 and tier 2 math students have individual learning paths on ixl.com, a site devoted to practicing math skills that are broken down by strand and by grade level.  I post a handful of objectives on students edmodo site and they then practice until they have mastered the skill.

Here’s what a student would see when logging into to edmodo:

They then click on the link and begin practicing.

The cool thing about ixl is that I can then see their progress or any trouble spots that might arise, so I can make sure students are actually growing.   I have also signed up for a Manga High site (thinksilearntechnology.com!) that allows me to create challenges for students as they work through learning new math skill.

On most days during this time I am working with my tier 3 students bringing them up to speed to 2nd grade work.  It is such a valuable time because rather then them sitting in a class of 28 students that are ahead of them, they can feel successful with just a class of 7 (while everyone else is working on their own work at computers) that have similar math knowledge bases as them.

This continues to be a work in progress, but it represents the direction we want to go.  Students take ownership over where they are and where they want to go.  It’s a powerful thought, and one that is distinct from school as they know it.

I’ll continue to update how things are going, the successes and the mistakes.

Do you have any experiences in individualizing the primary classroom?   If so I’d love to hear about them.

I’m in need of a bit of help blogueros.

I’d like to elicit your careful eyes in evaluating some gaming resources for not just practicing math skills, but for also learning higher order math skills independently of teacher guidance.

I just know there is a strong gaming community for Math students out there that I haven’t found yet. But I don’t have a lot of time to do this research myself.

The best site I’ve seen for teaching essential mathematical skills while engaging with an interactive game storyline is “Mental Maths: Mission 2110“, part of the BBC education site.

The site itself is built upon sound mathematical principals, guiding students to solve problems via actual understandings of math, not just simple regurgitation of facts.

The problem I find myself is how to better individualize my classroom of 28 2nd graders.  I’ve broken my Math block into a 10 minute “Math Meeting”, where we discuss weekly problem strategies as a class.  This serves to guide students to use Math vocabulary, to model essential understandings, and to apply our understandings to real life situations.

The 2nd portion of my class is individual work time, where students practice and then demonstrate that understanding while I work with a small group of students who struggle with foundational concepts of counting, grouping numbers, ordering numbers, etc.  NWEA assessments put these students 2 years behind their peers, so I want to spend as much time with them as possible.

The real issue comes during the last portion of my Math block, where I want to really individualize the directions my students are going.   I’ve opened 3 mini computer labs within my classroom, where students cycle through working on individual skills.  Another group of students works at our smartboard.  Another group works on “real world” applications of the math skills we’ve developed.  Finally, I work with a small group.

I value the small group opportunity greatly.  It’s  a chance to really build personal relationships with my students around math and problem solving.

The independent work that students do at the laptops is lacing though.  I’ve yet to find interactive experiences that offer any depth or are truly rigorous.  Other options build students computation skills, but that’s such a small part of what I want them to do.

Does anyone have any suggestions for primary age math sites?  These need to be completely self-directed, and they need to focus on process and not just computation.  I’m searching for higher order knowledge, but sites that also scaffold these processes in ways that are highly interactive.

Additionally, how do you structure inquiry in math for primary students? How do you use the internet to deepen your student’s understanding of process?  What exercises in CREATION do you use for your students to demonstrate their thinking in math?

What are your thoughts on things I’m missing?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I found this via @danielpink and the brainpickings.org site.  We have really begun to dissect sentences in 2nd grade.  Today we isolated nouns that refer only to people.

This video describes all the famous people who have been “objectified” as nouns throughout history.  It was created by NPR’s Robert Krulwich and Adam Cole.  

The post can be found here: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/10/03/people-who-became-nouns/

I’ve been using google voice in the classroom since I got a beta number back when the service launched.  It was essential for Spanish language teaching and continues to be of use in 2nd grade.

Very few of my students have any access to the internet at home (only 3 out of 28 of my 2nd grade students right now).  Google voice is great because it only requires a phone, which even if their family’s phone has been cut off recently, they can borrow an auntie’s, a grandma’s, or a neighbor’s just to make a quick call.

We use the service in a variety of ways:

• Reading: Students are given books to take home via readinga-z.com or http://www.progressivephonics.com/.  They take the paper book home and call my google voice number.  Students read the book into the phone and then hang-up.  I download the mp3 and post it on our class edmodo page or load it on an ipod for students to listen to.  They can then listen to their own voice or mine and compare.  We are collecting these “audiobooks” for each other to use, as well as for the 1st graders who might like to read 2nd grade level books.

• Vocabulary: Students call the google voice number (or text it) to create sentences out of our weekly vocabulary words (or any vocabulary words that preceded that week).  We take these sentences and post them on our class website, so people can create their own sentences too! (usually the first person to post receives some cool prize or riddle).

• Math: Students call the google voice number when they see math operating in everyday life.  We then collect the audio recordings and listen to them on Fridays, talking about the places we see math (eventually we will plot these on a crowdmap).

• Social Studies: In 2nd grade we talk a lot about community issues.  Students call the number when they see examples of our discussions, or things they’d like to learn more about with regards to their community.  We then are able to do some research to answer their questions, or point them to a community member who could give them (or us) more information.

Ok, so I used to pride myself by being on the bleeding edge as a language teacher. Helping my middle school students understand the possibilities of new tools, and sharing when they found uses I would never have thought of. It was exciting, it was sexy, it was cool.

Well I’m sure everyone and their mama has heard of http://starfall.com, but I want to share the power of this site anyway for phonics instruction.

I have 4 students who read at a pre-K level in 2nd grade. Only 6 of my students read a 2nd grade level in general. Despite the many discussions on the interwebz about developmental differences, or about literacy in general, the work we have in front of us with regards to catching students up is a little daunting (don’t worry, we said we have S.W.A.G. didn’t we?)

Our school goes an hour and a half longer than other public schools in the city, time we are paid to host “remediation” blocks for reading and mathematics.

I use this time for workstations, for which my students rotate through activities every 15 minutes.

This allows me to spend quality time in small groups with my students who struggle most with reading, give my students ample time to read books they choose to read, and to practice skills they struggle with.

I learned about starfall from our technology teacher 2 years ago, but since I taught Spanish, I didn’t really need it.

Now that I have such specific skills I need to introduce my students to, star fall is an excellent interactive site for phonics work. It allows students to practice blending sounds, to create words, to read interactive stories, and to play games that support phonics practice.

I can find the exact skill I want students to work on, then post on their edmodo page the skill each student needs to focus on for that period of time. It’s cool. It’s cool. It’s cool.

Of course, having laptops allows for this to be just one in an litany of resources I am able provide my students on a daily basis. This is all in addition to the things my students are able to create that serve to help them learn and to share their learning with the broader world.

I know I’m new to all this, but impression is still impression.

Summer school is wrapping up this week, at which point I’ll return to my beloved Walnut Park campus and begin setting up my 2nd grade classroom (my first year in that position).

I’m going to have a space in the room with a tv and a nintendo wii, which I intend to use for health and learning.

I tweeted a few days back asking for recommendations on titles or stories about your experiences with using the wii for learning, but I want to ask again.

Have you used a wii to learn something new before?  What did that look like?  Was it in a classroom?  Was it from home?  Is there anything you wish you would have known before starting?  Is there anything you would do differently?  What would you do again?

If there are any resources online that you found helpful please let me know.

Finally, what titles did you find worked well for learning?  I’m going to go on ebay and search for some used games, but I’d like to know which ones students found helpful, or fun, or you found really addressed some learning need.

Let’s face it, I’ve been derelict in my duties as an edblogger this year.  I think I’ve spend more time talking about how much I’ve not been blogging than I have actually blogging.  I even wrote a post back in November called “How mrsenorhill got his groove back“.  For pete’s sake. Whatever.

But there’s nothing like tons of fresh espresso and a conversation with John T. Spencer to get my scribin’ juices flowing.

So here’s my question before I head to bed, a question I love to ask @desertdiver over our semi-regular pub conversations.

What do my 2nd graders need to know to be amazing in your classroom?

We spend a lot of time prognosticating about what our students need for 2015, 2020, 2030 and beyond.  We attempt to understand what skills our students need for the future, whether that be for the job market or the happiness market.

We read books like Howard Gardner’s Five Minds for the Future that attempt to guide us in directions we can only imagine right now.

But what about short term?

There are 30ish 2nd graders at home right now who will enter my classroom on August 16th ready to be amazed.  How should they spend the year?  What things should they do to prepare them for your, teacher/coach/admin from my oh glorious PLN, 3rd grade classroom next year?

What should they be able to do to be an amazing 4th grader in your most humane and democratic classroom?

What about an innovative 5th grade environment?

Or a caring and communicative 6th grade classroom?

And all the way to 12th grade, ready to solve the world’s problems.

Give me some insight.  If I’m going to really prepare these students for the classrooms of the future (and thereby giving them a chance for what comes beyond that), I’d like to know your thoughts on what you think they need.  I’ll ask them the same question, but  I’m very interested to see what you’ll say.

Please list what grade (or grades) you teach in the comments.