While You Were Out

One area that I have struggled with in the past, and an area that I know will be essential this year, is what to do with those students who are absent from class.  Because our school is switching to trimesters, and we will see our students every day, I know that getting students make-up work is going to be a top priority. So, as always, I've been scouring Pinterest to find what will work out perfectly for me.

Here's what I came up with:

This station is the first bulletin board my students walk by when they enter my classroom - as you can see it is made up of a large calendar, an area that holds some half sheets of paper, a bin with folders, and a pen station. Let's look at each section.

In the calendar section, I will write the name and block that students missed on the day they were absent - so, if Sally is gone for three days, her name will appear on each day she was absent. My plan is to write these names down as students are working on their warm-up activity each day.

Next, I will fill out a half sheet of paper for the students and staple any papers I handed out that day to the half sheet. I titled the half sheet of paper "Yes, we did something while you were gone..." because as most high school teachers know, students often come in after an absence and say "Did we do anything when I was gone yesterday?" The half sheet will be filled out with the warm-up, any homework students turned in that day, the basic content covered and any assignments given that day (attached to the paperwork).

Those half sheets and papers will be placed in the appropriate folder for the student's block. 

When students return to class, they will be asked to:

1. Check the folder for their block
2. Get all assignments they missed
3. Cross their names off calendar

I know it is a struggle for students when they miss school, and with our new schedule it will be more of a priority to have this process streamlined. I really think this new make-up work station will help my students and me be more organized when it comes to getting right back to work when they return.

Daily Organization - Part One

As a teacher, organization is essential to running a successful classroom.  Without organization, you can forget to make copies, papers might get misplaced and it can lead to a stressed out class and teacher.  There are a few things I keep on my desk to help me stay more organized (thanks to Pinterest for the ideas).

First, is my plan, copy, prep and grade sheet:

This sheet is one that I fill out each day - Previously I have filled it out during my planning time (which has been at the end of the day) but with my new schedule, I will need to figure out the time that this will work best.  

In the plan area, I mark down what I need to be working on with my lesson plans.  Especially during my coaching season, it is super important that I stay ahead on planning (at least two weeks), so I use this area to look ahead and plan those things that are down the road.  Right now - I'm working on first units and start of the year information, but it gets more specific during the year.

My copy section is for (duh) what I need to copy (or have my student assistant copy). With our school going 1:1 last year, I made a lot fewer copies, but this is an area that I still want to keep active - just because if I forget to make copies...it's usually at a really inconvenient time, and the copier is usually 3 people deep. 

The prep section is for those activities that are coming up in the next couple of days - while the plan section is for more long term planning, prep is what needs to be prepared right now. I have several meetings coming up this week - so preparing for those went on my prep section for now.

The final section is grade.  While this section doesn't have anything in it (yet), I use it to keep myself on task. This section gets filled out each block - when students hand something in, it goes on the list.  When you have four different courses that you teach each day, it's easy to forget what students handed in that day when you get to 3:30 - and it's also a good way to stay on top of assignments students turn in online.

The other organizational list I have near my desk is my "End of the Day Routine." 

These are activities that I make sure to do each day so that I'm ready to go when I walk in the room the following morning. Although I get to school about 45 minutes before school starts each morning, it is nice to know that everything is ready to go right when I walk in, in case I have a meeting in the morning or I end up being gone. 

Before I leave I make sure that I have my objectives written on the board for the next day, I straighten up my desk, clean up the areas around the desktop computers in my room, write the info on my plan, copy, prep, grade list, pack up my papers, computer, and any extra stuff I brought that day (lunch bag, coat, etc.), turn off the lights in my room, studio, office, and then leave my desktop ready for the next day - including all copies needed for the classes the following day. 

I keep these lists right on my desk, so that I see it each day and remind myself to stay on top of everything.  Both have been laminated and have really helped me be more organized.  It's something small that has made a difference for me. 

New App Obsession: PADLET

Whenever I attend a conference, I always try to leave with at least one new tool to incorporate immediately into my classroom.  Earlier this summer, I was lucky enough to attend the KSDE Impact Training at Emporia State University.  The two-day conference was full of different sessions so we could tailor the experience to individual wants and needs.

At one of the sessions, I was introduced to a new app that I am excited to use in my classroom. The app, called Padlet, is basically an online wall that you can create/collaborate over a specific topic easily. It can be set up in various ways - either as a bulletin board style or as a "flow" style. It can also be set up where you can have different contributors to one padlet, so  your students could be adding their own information to the padlet, or you can set it up as a tool that students could use for research, etc.

So far, I've started two different padlets for use in my classroom - the first one is for my yearbook students and I've set it up as a place where they can gather and share their ideas as we begin planning our 2017 yearbook. I like that we can collaborate over the summer even though we aren't together - it will help when we choose our theme and design concept next week.

I'm also doing a lot of revamping to my 21st Century Media class and want to try out a padlet to help the students do more focused research using sites that I have selected.  This site can be used as they work on a scavenger hunt to learn about the history of American Media - and then it can be used a resource for them prior to the test over the unit. While I created this one, I think it would be great to have students create their own for different projects - or to gather design or photo ideas. The possibilities are exciting to think about.

I had just been using the free form method to design so far, so I decided to try another type. I've created a padlet using the stream style so you can see exactly how it works.  This would be a great way to facilitate discussion in class - pose a question to the group and have students comment - endless possibilities. Feel free to share your favorite classroom apps to see just how padlet works.

What is your favorite classroom app?

If you have a google account, padlet is super simple to set up.  It took me about 5 minutes to set up my first one, and I had so much fun, I keep making more and more.  I'm excited to see what the possibilities might be for this app.

If you are interested in learning more about padlet and how to use it in your classroom, I've also found this great basic video to help you get started.

Thanks for visiting my site - now back to creating more padlets ;)

The Future

On block scheduling, our school had a portion of the day called seminar (until it was changed a few years ago to Intervention and Enrichment). This time of the day is for students who need interventions in classes - extra time to grasp the content objects - or to do make-ups.  The way that time has been structured for the last several years is that each teacher is in charge of approximately 10-15 students of one grade level.  The teachers then "carry" those students from year to year until they graduate and then a new group takes their place.

As we move to trimesters, and because of some changes at the state level, our I&E time will also be changing.  We will have the time twice a week (instead of 4 times a week) and it will be called Career and Academic Planning (CAP) time.  The focus of this time will be for students to look at their futures and plan what they need to be doing academically to reach their goals.  This is also the year that I get a new set of students.  While I will miss my group that just graduated, I am excited to start this new CAP time with a brand new set of freshman.  

One part of this new journey that I think will be so beneficial will be that students will be actively thinking about their futures, and that's where one of my new bulletin boards fits in.

As you can see, the bulletin board says "The future of the world is in our classroom" and "How will YOU affect the future?" What I'm planning to have my freshmen do is to look at their futures on the first day of high school. Where do they see themselves in the future? How do they see themselves making a difference? How are they working each day to achieve those goals? I will then have them each post their goals - maybe what they want to do in the next 4 years, or what job they might have, etc.

Are these goals set in stone - absolutely not - but I want them to start with a goal in mind, and I want them to understand that each day they are working toward that future.  Maybe they have a few tardies - is that something that a boss in their ultimate dream job would allow? If they don't want to make-up a science lab - what about your goal of becoming a nurse, can you "skip" a lab? 

We will continually revisit and revise their future plans as the students work through their four years and the CAP process...and this bulletin board will change with them. I hope it will serve as a reminder to them that they are the ones who will determine our future - and high school is an essential step to reaching the goals they have for themselves.

A Little Upcycling

Our school has a special spot each summer where people can put chairs, desks, cabinets, etc. that they no longer want in their classrooms - in turn, other teachers can go through this space and see what gems they might need for their classroom. Over the years I've gotten a pretty nice set of "rolling chairs" so when kids are working on desktop computers in my room, they have a more comfortable chair.  I've also picked up a podium, a round table to use with my yearbook students, etc. You see, this spot is right outside my classroom...so it's like begging me to take something each time I walk by.

I was determined NOT to pick up anything this summer...

Well, I got a TV as a replacement for my SMART board at the end of the school year last year, and found out over the summer that it would be best to use my laptop with the new TV. I had been using my laptop last year with the TV, and didn't really have a good spot to put it - other than my podium, and that was asking for trouble.

Enter the perfect sized desk...

The desk is the perfect size to hold my laptop and also to put the student inbox/stapler/three-hole punch (which gets those off of my desk). The only trouble is, I didn't really like the top of the desk - and felt like it needed a makeover.  

Enter $6 and two rolls of contact paper I picked up at the store.  While the chevron on the front was a little tricky - to make sure that it matched up, the whole project took me about 30 minutes from start to finish.  I'm trying to decide if I am going to put any more details, but I really like the way it turned out!

Can't wait to use it once school starts! 

And just like that, school is a month away.

Each year it seems like summer gets shorter and shorter - weren't we just finishing the school year last week? Summer is a great time to recharge and start fresh for the next year. Over the last week or so I have been scouring Pinterest and other blogs for ideas for next school year.  My 14th year of teaching will be like rebooting my teaching career.  After being on block scheduling - doing alternating days for most of those years, my school will move to a trimester schedule this next year. While I still have a month to wrap my brain around that - and I'm sure I'll visit it through blog posts between now and then - I wanted to start this blog and go through some of the ideas and changes I'm bringing to my classroom this year.

While looking through Pinterest, I stumbled upon an idea that (like all good teachers do) I'm going to steal.  You can see the original post HERE and I really like her idea of having a dedicated space in the room for specific topics - I like the Daily Celebration - maybe incorporating student birthdays, etc., I like the countdown (although I won't use the math problem), the date of course, and a focus for the day.  I also LOVE the idea of a weekly quote - especially if that quote can relate to what is happening that week in class or school.

I've been looking for quotes and designing some in Adobe inDesign that I will print on card stock and laminate to reuse each year. I thought I could share a few of the printables with you that maybe could be used in your classrooms too! How are you preparing for the new year?

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