It's funny how students take things you say every day and turn it into "a thing."
Every morning I share the Morning Meeting slidewith my class. (I tweaked someone else's template).I always try to connect the topic to the National Day or things that are going on in the world. In order to give my class a chance to talk about what they want to talk about, I would say,"Who has something to share outside of the topic?
Well, one day, I forgot to say this."Ummm, Mrs.Mims, we didn't share outside the topic!"
And thus, "Outside the Topic" was born.
Student voice. Student Choice.
In this virtual world, we have to give them something.
Give them a chance to talk about anything, and (almost)everything, they want. From the heartwrenching share about a mom's battle with thyroid cancer, watching the basement renovation unfold with daily updates, as well as listening to the devastation caused by fallng into lava and losing everything! (Minecraft,people😀). He cried that night,but then he got over it by playing a different game.
It's just a way, every day, for my kids to be themselves.
There was a post on Twitter about a mother who sent her kid to school knowing they had tested positive for COVID.
As I am wont to do, I dived into the comments.
A constant stream ran through the thread, noone should be upset with the adult. Instead we should blame society, the school, etc...., anyone but this adult who made the choice to send a kid to school with COVID.
Have we gone too far with expecting very little, or nothing at all, from our students and parents?
Was it too much to expect this parent to keep her child home when he had COVID? A disease that could be fatal to his classmates, their family, the teacher, and his/her family?
And this "not expecting much",didn't start during the pandemic, this "low or no" expectations, started years ago.
Why can't I expect my students to be on time?
To complete their work and do it to the best of their ability?
To ask for help if they need it?
To not lie on their beds while they are learning?
Why can't I expect my parents to read the notices I send home and respond?
To attend parent-teacher conferences?
To support their child to the best of their ability?
To ask for help if they need it?
And I know, we have to be flexible, especially now. I know everyone has a different situation, especially now. But this didn't start with COVID.
How many times have teachers found themselves blamed by a parent for their child's lack of progress, after not meeting any of the classroom expectations? And this, after the teacher has bent over backwards for the student and the parent?
What happens to our students later in life, when they have flowed through a world where noone expected anything of them? How do they adapt to a world where suddenly there are expectations that they are required to meet?
I have expectations for ALL of my students. Sometimes they are all able to meet them, and sometimes they are not.But the expectation is there.
Here's an example. I start class at 8:45 a.m. I open my Waiting Room at 8:40 a.m. which has a timer counting off the minutes. I expect my students to be on at 8:45 a.m. because that is when I start Morning Meeting. In the beginning, they would wander in whenever. By the 2nd month, most, if not all, are there at 8:45 a.m. every day. (5th graders)
If they're late, I don't fuss, I greet them. I don't know the circumstance that made them late. If it becomes constant, we have a conversation. (That's why building relationships are so important.)
Christmas is here! Or the holidays, the break, or whatever you wish to call it.
But one thing is for sure, whatever you call it, the kids are excited, and you still have to teach!
So I figured, why not use something that goes with the theme? Something the kids could get excited about? Something that involved Math, but not endless computation or word problems?
ThePNC Christmas Price Indexwas perfect for what I wanted to do. They have a site for educators complete withlesson plans. It's geared toward middle and high school students, so I modified it for my 5th graders.
I used the information they provided on the Price Index and created a tablefor the students to fill out using the information in the Price Index.
We sang the "12 Days of Christmas"before we began. (See video below).
They really enjoyed creating their own"12 Days of Christmas" chart I revised the chart again a little this year. Most of them shopped online. . The holidays are always hectic. This is a great way to maintain structure, but also allow the kids to have fun!
So, every week , I change my updates. I saved the template, so all I have to do is switch out the image.Ta-da!
My updates include the message on the board, our "quote of the week" poster, somewhere to sit, and myself, via Bitmoji, with my motivating message. It's not interactive, just an image. If you want interactive, this video is great.
I change my Bitmoji every week, the walls and floor sometimes, and the furniture.
This week, I added a window because we studied moon phases, and I wanted to make them aware of thePenumbral Lunar Eclipse.
It's just something easy that I do to give my students something to look at when they enter Schoology for the umpteenth time.
And a little creativity to help me keep my sanity in this virtual classroom world!
