Seeing the good and teaching and intervening and spiral reviewing and reteaching and assessing and doing all the things.. in 55 minutes.. is hard.
One hurdle I have had this year is the group I am teaching. They are truly a dynamic and challenging group all around- academically, behaviorally, personality wise.. it’s a lot. (I knew them when I taught at our feeder elementary school- it’s just always been that way with this bunch.)
We have 9 weeks of school left and I am working really hard to see the good. I know it is there if I look. One simple way I have incorpated this is to pass out these ‘Today I noticed’ cards. I print a stack and have them sitting on my desk. They are short and simple and take all of 10 seconds to write.
Notice someone who never pulls out their bellwork and they actually did today?
Someone give someone a pencil so you don’t have to go hunt for your spares because your kids literally have depleted your stash this year?
Someone showed their math work and they like *never* do that?
Someone particiapted who usually does not?
You caught someone actually referencing an anchor chart?
One thing about middle schoolers- they don’t outgrow wanting praise. I slip this to them on the way out the door and they know that I noticed something. It’s been a simple yet effective way to not only let them hear something positive from me, but it also reminds me something good happened this period.
As you are headed back to school, virtually or traditionally, I wanted to offer some great resources from my math friends. Hopefully you will find these inspiring and useful for your classroom!
At the start of my blogging, I was about to begin my second year of teaching 1st grade. I had opened every job opening email over the summer in hopes that I would not have to teach first grade again. (You know it’s a sign you need a change when you remember the time you NEVER even opened those emails right?) I ended up making it through a really challenging year- challenging due to the academic needs of my students, behavior issues I had never faced before, & working in a building that didn’t feel like home anymore for me.
Fast forward to now- I have been teaching 7th grade math for about 13 weeks. I truly feel this is where I belong. I loved 3rd grade when I taught it- it felt so natural for me & I thought I would teach it for 10 years before I wanted a change. It broke my heart to only teach it for two years & be moved. But, maybe that was the stepping stone to get me where I truly belonged. In a way, I feel middle school was maybe just where I was supposed to end up. There are a lot of labels that go with middle school- the drama, the attitude, etc. But when I think of the 150 kids I teach every day, I can honestly say NO they are not ALL like that! I have a few- a few that I am still working the kinks with. Out of five classes, I can honestly say there is only one that stresses me out at times. (And sometimes they come in & do okay.. it’s an interesting combo to say the least lol. Growth in my career that class..)
And I can’t help but think- elementary is really tough when you have a challenging class you are with all day LONG. If you have never taught a grade where you have your class ALL day long, you just don’t know what it is like to be in a situation ALL day long. I remember when some of my kiddos would walk in the room last year & I could tell it was going to be a DAY. It was so much weight on my shoulders. I have now gone from let’s get through the next 7 hours together to let’s make it through 55 min. Teaching is just hard no matter what- but finding your happy place makes all the difference. For me, I love changing classes. It was a jump going from 20 kids to 150 kids, but after a week it already felt routine. & I think a huge part of that was keeping an open mind: ‘SO many teachers see this many kids every day- they’ve done it for years. If they can do it, I can do it.’ I have let middle school be a clean slate/a new chapter/time for growth.
Twinning is Winning
Middle school teachers really care about their students just as much as elementary. I think that has surprised me the most. It amazes me at the relationships I see teachers building at my school when we only have kids for 55 min at a time. But maybe that is the art of a secondary teacher after all? I love building relationships with my students and this age group can actually be a lot of fun. Most of our days are good. I come home happier. If there’s anyone out there thinking about trying middle school, I encourage you to give it a try. It just might be where you belong. Elementary made me who I am- the details I put into lessons, the organization, the cute labels on my binders, the time management (thank you small groups lol), but now- now I am secondary at heart.
So if you follow me on Instagram you know I made a huge jump from 1st grade to 7th grade math (best decision I ever made btw). Our district had a 3 day week for students as the first week of school, so here is a look at what we did!
Day 1: QUIZ
On the first day my bellringer was a quiz!!! About me haha. My coworker shared this idea with me & I will forever use it! (Thank you to both of my amazing 6th grade math coworkers for helping plan with me!) I had students write their best guess. Then we went over the answers & whoever had the most right got candy. On the back I had 4 question templates where the kids made a quiz about themselves with multiple choices. They then swapped with a peer to take each other’s quiz. This was a great way for students to learn more about one another without having to ‘speak’ in front of everyone on the first day.
Student Quiz Template
Then I had students complete a graph of me from Rise Over Run. This was a fun review of the coordinate plane & how to plot ordered pairs. On the back I had a little questionnaire from Middle school and Macchiatos.
Day 2: Teamwork makes the DREAM work!!
The next day was AMAZING. I have an Instagram post about this but if you really wanna get a quick idea of what this is- what the video below. Basically this is an easy way for students to develop group norms. My coworker shared this lesson from MathEqualsLove. (Scroll down until you see the 1-100 activity.) You give groups (ideally 4) a sheet that has 1-100 mixed up. Students take turns circling the numbers in order to see how close they can get to finding all 100 in 3 min. The discovery of how to help each other find the number, paying attention, being efficient… it’s amazing. Several math teachers at our school used it this year on the first couple days. Even next year when I do this & some kids remember the activity from this last year- they will still have to discover how to work with NEW peers.
Day 3: Tech Contract
On the third day we used chrome books for a math diagnostic test from IXL. My coworker typed up this tech contract & we used this as our bellringer.
Last but not least- I literally cannot remember what day I did this LOL but this was a little interest inventory that the kids liked. Some responses to what students didn’t like last year were legit- one kid said he didn’t like teachers calling you out for no reason or to tell you to quit talking when it wasn’t even you!!!!! #middles
I truly feel students that work hard deserve rewards! My class had exceptional growth this year on their DIBELS state reading assessment. We celebrated in multiple ways! First, I made growth badges for students to wear. They are free in my TPT.
We also had donuts and GENIUS juice (Sunny D) for breakfast one morning. SOOOO easy!
Finally, we had an ice cream celebration. About a good month before testing, we set goals for ice cream & toppings. Each component of our DIBLES was worth a topping if the student benchamarked/met a goal. I also had a bonus topping for hard work/effort. I made some cute signs that you just print on cardstock & fold in half to stand up. They are free in my TPT.
How do you celebrate growth, success, testing, etc.!? I would love to know!
One of my major areas of focus for classroom management is building relationships with my students. But once my classes moved on to the next grade, it was so hard to say goodbye! I have hosted two Class Reunion Breakfasts to bring everyone together again. My first steps were to get permission from my principal & then contact the teachers to let them know what students had permission to come. I made sure those kids got an invitation (not too early in advance though as they would probably forget). I have a free template for the invitation in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. The last step was gathering the breakfast items. I personally did the breakfast before school started because we have a 45 min. bus duty. I highly recommend trying a reunion breakfast if you have any of your previous classes in the building with you. How do you build relationships with your students!?
