Recess Plan

I had this situation arise this week where a boy in my class went home and burst out crying because he doesn't have any friends to play with at recess. It has turned into a big thing for him and it came out to his parents and me that this issue is causing anxiety for him and making him not enjoy school. I was thinking of different things I could do, such as, putting a nice friend's desk next to him, modeling assertiveness with him, ex. Then I remembered talking about recess at the Responsive Classroom training this summer. My facilitator had brought up this same exact point that as teachers we think it is a fun time and just send them outside; however, this can be a really stressful time for some kids who don't have anyone to play with. I remembered her telling us to have the students make a plan for recess of who they were going to play with and what they were going to do before they went outside. This activity ensures that everyone has someone to play with when they get outside. On Friday, I had my class all sit down and make a plan before we went outside. The students loved it! They were excited to have the time to look at all of the students and pick new friends to play with and think of an activity to play. One girl mentioned that it is hard when they get outside because there are so many kids it is hard to find people to play with and things to do. I am going to remember to take a few minutes to do this activity before recess more often.

They're Tired of Modeling

After reading through the last few posts, I felt the need to go back to modeling when the kids returned from Winter Break.  For my class, the biggest challenge is always transitions, so I started there.  I would have a student model picking up his materials and lining up for math.  Then the whole class would follow.  I would have a student model how to go from her desk to the meeting area, and then the rest of the class would follow.  They were very successful with this for a couple of days.  Then came the moaning.

After a few days of doing A LOT of modeling, my kids would groan every time I asked for a model.  I tried transitioning without a model, and they reverted back to their old behaviors.  I could tell they were sick of the modeling process, and I could tell that they knew what was expected.  Many just weren't doing it that way.

I decided to try something a little different.  I told the kids that I knew they were tired of modeling, and that I knew they didn't need me or anyone else to tell them how a transition should look.  I also explained that the reason we had been modeling so much, was that I wasn't seeing the majority of the class follow the expectations.  I asked them all to close their eyes and silently think through what our transition should look like and sound like.  After about 30 seconds, I said, "Go."  They all went to their desks quietly and efficiently, and waited for the next directions.

I'm not going to pretend this has worked every time, but I think my age group really appreciated the independence this "visualizing" process gave them.  I go back to this process once or twice a week, now, and there seem to be fewer groans.

Touch Someone Who

This time of the year can be hard for not only the students but also the staff. When I was in college a girl in my Blocks did this activity with the class when we were all in a slump and feeling a little discouraged. It was really a humbling and encouraging activity for everyone who was involved. I know as teachers it can be hard to to find the time to encourage our colleagues but this activity is great. I am asking Mr. Leonard if I can do it at our next staff meeting because I feel like we all can use a little encouraging every now and then. This is also a great activity to do with older grades. You can change the words and add what you would like. This is the one I really like and want to share.

Modeling

I was just reading your posts about the Y charts, and I realized that I have been very lucky this year with my class knowing the rules, verbalizing them to me and following them. If they break a rule, I have frequently had students on their own say, "I deserve a consequence." I have not made as many Y charts as in the past years. Modeling is the key in my class this year. Any time that I notice we are getting antsy and things aren't going as smoothly as they should, I realize all I need to do is slow down and model this year. The students love to be the one to model, and they all get excited to do the activity just as well as the others who modeled it for us. I remember my facilitator saying, "Don't assume they know how to do things right away, or that they will always remember. Slow down and model it." Modeling has been great for me this year!! You all got me thinking that I should do more Y charts, though. Do you do them for hallways, quiet work time reader's workshop, etc.? How often do you do them? Thanks for the ideas!