Morning meeting during field

For my final field experience, I was placed in a 4th grade classroom at Timpanogos Elementary in Provo.
My cooperating teacher, Mr. Evans, is a UVU graduate.
And guess what?
He does morning meetings.
His morning meetings involve a share and then either a game or a greeting.
They are only 10 minutes long, but I can see the good that comes from them.
I think his morning meetings have helped with classroom unity and they especially helped the students with their social skills.
On the first day of my three weeks, all of the students were lined up outside the classroom. Mr. Evans explained to them that I was visiting and that they should greet me before entering the classroom.
Holy cow was I am impressed! Every single student shook my hand while making eye contact with me. They introduced themselves and told me good morning! Some of them even asked me how I was doing.
I know that those skills came from morning meeting.

I feel so grateful that I am placed in a class where I will be able to continue doing morning meeting when I student teach in January. I'm excited to see what I come up with and the results that will come from doing it.

Looking Back

Although my three weeks are over,
It is just the beginning

Student teaching in January will be a chance to
differentiate the content
the process
the product
for
readiness
learning profile
and
interest
better than before

Now I know the students.
I am learning how they learn,
thinking how they think.
I am becoming more confident with my classroom management skills
And my lesson planning
I will have more time to
differentiate

It doesn't have to happen every day
It takes time
It is not easy
But it is worth it.

sylvia long and jentri youd

Two teachers.
Two very different methods of implementing morning meeting.
Both inspiring.

Sylvia Long. Wow is she amazing! She came and spoke to our class at the beginning of the semester. Her morning meeting looks like this:
Class creed
Greeting (Monday only)
Pledge
Memorization
Class business (vegetables, dessert, and medicine)
News
Share
Class Cheer

Jentri Youd. He came to our class about a week ago. He is full of energy that is absolutely contagious  His morning meeting looks a little something like this:
Class game
Share
Class cheer (which involves a goal for that day)

I LOVED listening to Sylvia Long. I could listen to her all day. She told stories that made me laugh so hard, and stories that brought me to tears. I spent at least an hour retelling all her stories to my husband that night. I also loved listening to Jentri Youd. You can just tell that his students have so much fun in his classroom and that even the shyest student eventually opens up.

Both of these teachers have implemented morning meeting styles that differ from the original, but both of these teachers were successful because they made it their own. I love what Mr. Youd said: "Do what works best for you. Be your own teacher!"

I'm not exactly sure what my morning meeting will look like, but I definitely want a class creed. I'm thinking about having a list of short class creeds that change each month. I like the idea of addressing class business. (Vegetables are the every day stuff, desserts are the things the students did well, and the medicine is if there are every any problems that need to be discussed.) I will definitely want the students to share in some way and we will always play a game, because those are my favorite. :)

tiering

I have often wondered how I can possibly give all of my students challenging instruction when they are all on different levels. After reading chapter 6 in Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom, one of the answers is tiering. (Not to be confused with tiring.) haha

To get you excited about tiering, here is beautiful, multi-layered cake:

"Tiering assumes that within a particular lesson or product, a wide range of students should work toward the same knowledge, understanding, and skills. However, it acknowledges the varied readiness levels of students in approaching the task and thus presents the work at different levels of difficulty. Thus, while essential outcomes are similar, the demands of the task are structured and scaffolded in response to learner need."

Let's go back to the cake. Each tier is unique. Some are bold, some are not. Some are on bottom, some are on top. Even though each of these tiers looks different, they all serve the same purpose and that is to feed people. If the cake represents tiering a lesson, then think of each tier of the cake representing different tasks that could be given to different groups of students. The basic nature of the task (or the purpose) should be the same for each group. (i.e learning and exploring the stages of the water cycle) Even though each task entails the same goal, they will not all look the same. (Just like the tiers on the cake.) Some groups might learn best by listening to a book on tape about the water cycle, while some might need to act it out and pretend they are the water cycle.

I really liked the example given in the book with Mr. Johnson and his lesson on buoyancy. I was really interested in his lesson because first of all, I am teaching a science lesson on buoyancy with Brittany this Friday in our science class, and secondly, I was interested in how he tiered his lesson. I loved that each group was given an exciting, yet challenging task. You could see the different levels each task presented, but you could also see how each task appropriately scaffolded the group of students it was intended to scaffold.

Mr Johnson's two-tiered inquiry lesson: In tier one, the students needed to make a boat that could float and hold washers, in tier two (a little more challenging) the students had to create a boat that could hold exactly 10 washers, which meant it would need to sink if it hit 11. Can you see the difference and similarities?

I like this tiering idea. It will take more work, but if we are properly differentiating in our classroom, we have already decided to invest in our students so the extra time will just be second nature.

other blogs

Today I was reading through some other differentiation blogs. One post I really liked was on Carolyn's Blog. She discussed the same thing I did which is that we need to teach students, not just the subject. I really like what she said, "I want to be a teacher of students, not a teacher of lessons." I want that too!

Another blog post I really liked was on Nichole's Blog. In one of her posts, she discussed chapter 3 in Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom. In this chapter it states that a certain faculty was great because they lived what they believed. Nichole pointed out that in our Education program, we are taught a lot of information but there are also a lot of opinions. Nichole said, "This is where I need to form my own opinion on what I believe. Once I know for sure what I believe I want in my classroom to feel, look, and act like, then I will be able to live it." Amen sista! There's a reason Sylvia Allen's morning meeting is different than the one in the textbook. She lived what she believed and she made her morning meeting work for her. And what an amazing work it was!

Sometimes I get really stressed about trying to be exactly like all the really good teachers out there. I get stressed thinking about using EVERY SINGLE good idea I have ever heard. The thing that helps me calm down and feel confident is knowing that I don't have to be just like other teachers. I need to be myself and do what works for me.

I like reading other blogs. :)

tame me

A couple blog posts ago, I wrote about taming the fox, a metaphor on using differentiation in the classroom. Chapter 5, in Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom, explains more about "taming" our future students. "Although the teacher's role bears some of the hallmarks of the counselor, parent, coach, social worker, and so on, those are not the teacher's central role. It is mandate of the teacher to teach"  (p. 56). While it is important for us as teachers to be their coach and to counsel with them, it is far more important to equip the students with "intellectual wherewithal" that is becoming more and more necessary to succeed in a society that demands academic preparation.

One thing that stood out to me as I was reading chapter 5 of Tomlinson's book, is when she was talking about an 8th grade algebra teacher she once had. Tomlinson stated, "She taught Algebra. But she did not teach me." That kind of scared me. I don't want to be that kind of teacher. What if I think I'm teaching my future students, but in the end, all I've done is taught the curriculum. I don't want that to happen. You can bet your bottom dollar that I was paying close attention when she talked about her German teacher, a teacher who was successful in teaching the students and not just the subject matter.

Tomlinson's German teacher was successful because:

-She always seemed sure her students could succeed & gave them work so that they could prove this
-She had eye contact with her students & smiled a lot
-She made each student's presence feel significant
-She helped the students understand the importance of the subject & how it relates to real world experiences
-She checked understanding and proficiency & worked with individuals when needed

In essence, her German teacher was saying, "I will learn about you and do whatever it takes, using this subject matter, to make sure you are a fuller and more potent human being than you were when you walked in this room. Please be my colleague in that quest."

Tomlinson gave five characteristics of curriculum and instruction in the classroom that genuinely helped her learn. The work needs to be:
1. Important
2. Focused
3. Engaging
4. Demanding
5. Scaffolded

I completely agree with this! When I look back at my own personal experiences, I can relate. My Psychology teacher in High School, whose name is Ms. Leek, truly wanted each of us to succeed. She knew me by name, she knew what my hobbies and interests were, she made learning so interesting and challenging; her class was not easy. I had to work hard, but I was motivated to learn because she helped me see the importance of Psychology. This pales in comparison to many other teachers I have had. I cannot remember their names, and I cannot remember what I learned. All I remember is feeling frustrated and/or bored.

I have included the following page from the book because it breaks down the five characteristics of curriculum and instruction listed above.

I wanted to include this because if I ever forget in the future what curriculum and instruction should look like in the classroom, the basics are all right here. At the beginning of the year, my students will be saying, "tame me" and I will have a better idea of what that looks like.

Hallmarks of a Differentiated Classroom

When I first heard/read about the hallmarks of a differentiated classroom, I was a little confused about them. It sounded important, but that's about all I understood. Now that we have discussed them more fully in class, I LOVE the hallmarks! They are the blueprint to a differentiated classroom. They are eight, very important goals a teacher should strive for. To help us remember these hallmarks, our teacher split us up into different groups, and then we presented them using cute and clever analogies. To help me remember them even more, I am going to record them in this here blog.

Hallmark numero uno: A strong link between Assessment and Instruction. (This was my group's hallmark.)
We created a giant paper chain, beginning with assessment and ending with instruction. Members of our class helped bring up different links to link the two together. The links included phrases such as: continually assess, ensure progression, and inseparably connected. Once all of our links were attached, we added aluminum foil to our assessment and instruction links. Why? Because when they are linked together, they both become stronger. And who doesn't want that? Also, it doesn't matter what order the chain is in, just as long as it is linked together.

Hallmark numero dos: Absolute [teacher] clarity about what the teacher wants the students to know, understand, and be able to do-about what is truly important to learn in this unit. 
For this one, the group put a small piece of text under the doc camera and there was no way we could read it. They started brainstorming ideas out loud of how they could make it clearer. They tried highlighting it, and that didn't work. Finally, they pulled out a magnifying glass which made it a lot clearer. The magnifying glass represents focusing on the essentials. Then our teacher added, that if they had memorized the text, it would have been even better. Hallmark number two is all about the teacher being clear. So think of the magnifying glass zooming in on the teacher, making him or her more clear.

Hallmark numero tres. Shared responsibility for the classroom is between teacher and students, in the goal of making it work for everyone. 
This presentation was one of my favorites! It was all about A Bug's Life and how the Queen may seem like she is the one in charge, but really, she can't do it alone. Everybody needs to work together and everybody learns from everybody.  Every member of the colony is important. Our teacher emphasized that in order for number 3 to be a success, then number 2 needs to be a success. In other words, the teacher needs to be clear, before everybody can work together.

Hallmark numero cuatro. Individual growth is emphasized as central to classroom success. 

For this one, they brought in a bed of flowers. Each flower was different, but each is important. Each flower is important. Just because one is taking longer to bloom than another, doesn't mean it isn't as important. Student growth is not compared to other students, only to themselves.

Hallmark numero cinco. A "way up," usually through multiple and varied pathways, and never a "way out." 

This one was really cute! They made little airplanes and clouds and placed them on the white board. As they were trying to place the airplanes on the board, a couple of them kept slipping (which was not part of their plan). However, this ended up adding to their lesson because instead of just giving up and taking the airplanes off the board, they found other magnets to hold up the airplanes. They adjusted their plan to help each individual airplane. Some students can stay up all on their own, but seem need assistance. It is our job to find the right pathway. 

Hallmark numero seis. "Respectful" and engaging work for all students. 

This one was hilarious! They showed this really funny youtube video of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Their main point was that "just right" is different for everyone. The porridge represents what each students needs to take in. Some like it hot, some like it cold. Some like it in between. This Hallmark is all about being equitable, not equal. Each students gets what they need. 

Hallmark numero siete. Flexible Grouping. 
This was another one of my favorites. First they had us get into groups according to our shoe color. There were about 5 different groups and nobody was left alone. Then they had us get in groups according to the style of our shoe. I was left alone, because I was the only one wearing high heel wedges. Teachers need to be flexible with their grouping. Sometimes a student needs some one on one attention and sometimes you can do groups of 4 or 5. It all depends on the students and the objective. 

Hallmark numero ocho. Flexible use of time, space, and materials. 

For this one, they used tangrams. Each piece represents different materials used in the classroom and the picture is the objective or the goal. Sometimes you need a simple square, and sometimes you need something more complex. The teacher needs to be willing to switch up the time, space, and materials used in order to achieve the goal. At least that is how I understood it. The goal (or picture) should always come first. Then you can look to see what materials (pieces) you will need. 

All of these hallmarks are important. I'm still a little overwhelmed thinking about trying to become perfect at all of these, but my teacher said that you don't have to be. Veteran teachers still have a hard time getting all of these down. I think continually trying is the key. I can do that. :)

PS22 Chorus

This teacher is seriously so inspiring.

Differentiation is encouraging each student to blossom before they close up.

"If you close up when you're in 5th grade, you're going to close up the rest of your childhood." -Mr. B

Baseball Camp: A Metaphor for Differentiation

Today I was reading from this book:

And guess what?! It starts off with a metaphor for differentiation. 

I love metaphors and the one in this book is a good one. 

Baseball Camp: A Metaphor for Differentiation

Coach Mac is the director at a baseball camp called Home Run Baseball Camp. Each summer, he works with all kinds of different children. Male, female, short, tall, big, small, shy, goofy, experienced in baseball, not experienced in baseball, the list goes on and on. Even though they are all different, they all have one thing in common: they are at camp to get better at playing baseball. 

Coach Mac watches the kids carefully, assessing their strengths and their weaknesses. Sometimes he will teach them all the same drill and sometimes he will have them work in groups. The unique thing about Coach Mac's coaching style is that he doesn't just teach them skills required to do well in baseball, but he also teaches the small players life lessons and skills they will need to function in society. He can't control the amount of talent each child brings, but he can control the amount of effort they give toward developing their talent. I love the following quotes from Coach Mac:

"Talent is what you bring. Effort is what you give."

&

"Everyone loves winning, but winning is a short-term thrill. Long-term satisfaction comes from success, not winning. What constitutes as success? Giving it all you've got. Getting better. Growing. That's durable."

A lot of what Coach Mac does during a summer of baseball camp mirrors what differentiation in the classroom should look like. We need to study our students just as Coach Mac did with his players. We need to continually craft our teaching methods according to each child's strengths and weaknesses. We need to teach children life lessons and not just the curriculum. 

I love, love, love the second quote above. The one about success. I want to teach my students about success. I want my students to feel successful whenever they are giving it their all or whenever they are growing. Not everyone will be good at math or reading. Not everyone will love learning about history or science. But everyone can be successful if they are giving it their best. I love the quote so much, I think it could make a really good class creed.

Taming the Fox

Take a look at the following books:

The first book, I read when I was in High School.

The second, I just started today.

Before beginning my differentiation textbook, I never would have guessed that it had something in common with The Little Prince. Then again, it shouldn't surprise me that it does. The Little Prince is jam-packed with over-my-head metaphors that sometimes I can make sense of. But usually someone just has to tell me what that tiny little book and that tiny little prince are talking about.

Thankfully, my differentiation textbook did just that.

Right around page 6, Tomlinson begins to explain that metaphors help people extend their thinking. To further explain this notion, she informs the reader that there is a metaphor in The Little Prince that can help  extend their thinking about differentiation in the classroom. The metaphor she is talking about is called: Taming the Fox. 

"The Little Prince, a young boy who is in many ways representative of all of us, goes on a pilgrimage to make sense of life. In particular, he needs to understand what love means in the scope of his existence. Along the way, he meets and learns from a varied lot of folks-both wise and foolish. Near the end of his journey, he encounters a fox and asks the fox to play with him. The fox responds that he cannot pay with the Little Prince because he-the fox-is not tamed. The Little Prince is puzzled and asked what it means to be tamed. The fox responds that it means to establish ties-an act too often neglected, he observes:

To me, you are still nothing more

than a little boy who is just like a

hundred thousand other little boys. 

And I have no need of you. And you, 

on your part, have no need of me. To 

you, I am nothing more than a fox like 

a thousand other foxes. but if you tame

me, then we shall need each other. To

me, you will be unique in all the world...

My life is very monotonous...

And, in consequence, I am a little bored.

But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun 

came to shine on my life. I shall know the 

sound of a step that will be different from

all the others. Other steps send my hurrying 

back underneath the ground. Yours will call

me, like music, out of my burrow.

(p. 80,83)

But the Little Prince is skeptical. He is very busy, he explains. He has so many things to do-so many things to understand. The fox gives a simple reply: "One only understands the things one tames" (p. 83). The Little Prince agrees to tame the fox. 

The fox explains that taming takes time, patience, and listening. Words, he notes, are often the source of misunderstanding. In time, the Little Prince tames the fox, who shares with his new friend two important truths:

1. "What is essential is invisible to the eye," (p. 87) and

2. "You become responsible forever for what you have tamed." (p. 88)

In the end, the fox and Little Prince must part ways, of course. There is great sadness in the parting, but there is happiness born of fulfillment as well. The two will be joined forever by the small memories they made together-the times they shared."

Tomlinson continues to explain that teachers are like the Little Prince who say, "Come play with me" and "Come do what I ask you to do." Each child, in their own unique way will say, "I can't do that until you have tamed me." Tomlinson states, "In 30 different ways, students in a class of 30 say to the teacher, like the fox, 'Tame me, please.' They want to feel a personal connection to those who share the classroom with them. They want to be affirmed there."

Obtaining a differentiated classroom means taming each child that comes my way. It takes time, patience, and listening. It takes getting to know each child's strengths and weaknesses. It means continually adjusting how I teacher according to their needs. And then once it's summer, I will have to part ways with them. It will be hard, but if I have done my job correctly, then there will also be rejoicing because of the things we have learned and the memories we have made. 

Wow, what a great metaphor. 

When Tomlinson said it would extend my thinking on differentiation in the classroom,

she was right!  

Class Activity: Victims and Sleuths

In my differentiation class, we were assigned to read an article about a teacher named Sharon, who utilized Morning Meetings every single day in her 3rd grade classroom. Sharon is convinced that Morning Meetings are the reason behind her students' success.

The article describes one of the class activities that Sharon used in her classroom and because I want to remember the activity in the near future (or far future), I have recorded it on this here blog.

        Victims and Sleuths

In this activity, the teacher secretly designates one or more of the students as a "murderer." All of the students scan the circle  making eye contact with one another. The "murderer" winks at his or her victim, who then must fall over. At any time during the scanning, a student may guess the identity of the murderer  If the student guesses correctly, the murderer is "done for." The game continues until the last "murderer" is caught.

Results: Students love to be creative and dramatic in their death scenes, and they developed new vocabulary to avoid using violent terms, eventually coming up with "perpetrator" rather than "murderer." The activity also promoted conflict resolution skills among the children as they tried to solve the problem of honesty in the game that is, falling over when winked at and refraining from pretending to be the perpetrator!


Source: "Like Being at the Breakfast table:" The Power of Classroom Morning Meeting by Elizabeth Bandy and Sharon Ketts

My own thoughts: I love this idea for a game! I bet you could do a different version where you send one student out in the hall. Everyone knows who the murderer(s) is except for that one student. Then they stand in the middle of the circle and try and figure out who the murder is. It would be really fun to let them dress up as a detective. And they win a certificate if they can solve the crime!

Differentiation so far...

So far, I have been to my Differentiation class once.
So far, I have loved it!

Dr. Peterson is my professor and instead of standing up in front of the class to teach us about morning meetings (which would have been understandable), she conducted one herself, engaging each of us students and giving us a feel of what it's like to participate in a morning meeting (which is way more fun and memorable). Dr. Peterson said, "If you don't actually do it, then you won't get your students to do it."

What is a morning meeting you may ask.

A morning meeting is done at the very beginning of class. It is a powerful tool to create classroom community and is between 15-30 minutes. Morning meetings include 4 components:

The greeting can be simple or complex. The teacher may toss a ball to a student and say, "Good morning {insert name here}" and then that student would say good morning back. This would be repeated until every student has been greeted by name. There are many different ways to jazz up the greeting. 

The sharing portion can be a lightening share where each students shares with a one word answer or short phrase, or a couple students may be picked to share something {the teacher picks the topic} and the student can share for a couple minutes. After the student shares they would turn to the class and say, "I'm ready for questions/comments." Then the sharer picks someone who is raising their hand to ask a question or share a comment. After three people have been chosen, the student would then say, "Thank you that was three." This is a great way for students to practice their social skills and their listening skills. 

The group activity involves everyone. If there is any risk-taking on the student's end, then the teacher would need to discuss beforehand why the task at hand may be difficult. For example, if you play an activity where only one student is the center of attention and needs to accomplish a task, then you would discuss why that task may be difficult so the other students don't think it is okay to laugh at them if they have a hard time completing the task. 

The news & announcements needs to be interactive. You may have a big piece of paper hanging up at the beginning of class asking the students to answer a question, share an idea, solve a problem, or gather data. When it comes time to do news & announcements, you read the chart together as a class and then discuss what the students have written, answered, tallied, etc. This is also a great time to share any changes in the schedule or announce something important. It is also a great tool when transitioning from coming into class and then getting to work on the next task at hand. 

After participating in a successful morning meeting, our professor asked us what this had to do with differentiation and why it might be important. Why spend so much time on learning about them? We answered that everyone is different and morning meetings help with classroom community and using their differences as strengths, rather than weaknesses. 

I personally love the idea of morning meetings. I'm excited to learn more about them and I'm excited to learn more about differentiation and how I can become a more successful teacher with students from different backgrounds.