Jump Start! What Teachers Need Now

Watching a master teacher show 2nd graders how to separate words into syllables reminded me of the importance of going slow.  She was asking them to tell her the vowels, she marked the vowels, and they went on to divide the words between the consonants.  Sometimes between the twins, double consonants.  Sometimes between the two consonants, unless there are three consonants, and then we divide after the last consonant in the previous syllable.  And we ignore the silent e at the end of most words.  It is simply a helper.  

Think of all the learning that had to come before.  Children needed to know which letters were the vowels, how they sounded, and their purpose i the word.  They need to know the other letters are consonants.  That’s a big word in itself!  They also have sounds, and when they are next door to another consonant like th sh ch- they make a completely different sound.  They needed to know that each syllable must have a vowel-if we count the vowels, except for silent e, we know how many syllables there are in the word.  (At this time, in this class, students were not reviewing words with two vowels together such as oi, au, ow, ea, etc. )Learning to read takes time, humans are not hard wired to read!

Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com
Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

Empathy can overwhelm and defeat us as teachers.  Teachers, along with nurses, are right there on the front lines of caring for others.  We drain our own resources trying to meet the emotional needs of our students.  

Compassion allows us to see the emotions of others, and then try to jump in to fix it, or alleviate some of the suffering.  Compassion is action based. Doing for others, giving to others, creates positive emotions in the giver.  Remember the movie Pay It Forward? It seemed to spark customers at Starbucks and other places to pay for the customer behind them. 

Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com
Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

The title today, how does it fit with teaching?  Great question!  One of my online students gave me this definition of warm-blooded animals.  His father taught him this.

 This student has knowledge that I didn’t have, and that I’d never considered.  He brought something new to our classroom.  All of our students will bring knowledge to the classroom.  I think it’s important to acknowledge what they know.  Many of our students today are entering classrooms without book knowledge, without school procedures, and sometimes without knowledge of modern conveniences, like toilets and sinks that work on sensors.  Our country, our world, is dynamic, ever-changing.  Our students will continue to come from places beyond our borders, our own worldview. 

Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com
Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

This week I listened to a news report detailing a slower growth rate of children over the last year. You and I know all parts of a child grow more slowly when their body isn’t growing, including their brain.  This is concerning. 

 While Lady Liberty welcomes all, the streets are NOT paved with gold as my GErman grandparents were told, they are paved with the sweat of hard work and low wages. And for families with student loans? Ouch. Those payments will return.  What can we do to advocate for better, and maybe more, food for our students?

Ne er Enough--The author describes high achieving students ‘as 'at risk’.  Students are pressured to participate in community service projects.  Students enrolled in Advanced courses, perhaps through the community college.  Students travel miles on the weekends to play competitive sports.  The term ‘at risk’ took me by surprise.  Seriously? What about the children living in poverty, who live with fewer resources than they need? What about students who witness violent acts or have insecure housing? If a child is in pain, the child is in pain. 

 Emptiness, anxiety, and depression-- add in sadness and hopelessness. Let’s not forget the impact of social media.  Will I be enough?  According to the book, “students feel they only matter to the adults their lives, their peers, the larger community, if they are successful.”

Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com
Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

We created Whamphonics during the Covid 19 summer of 2020.  Schools use paper pencil assessments to determine students' phonics gaps.  These are inefficient timewise, and ineffective because most often classroom teachers are not involved in the process.  I wanted something better.  Many of you know Dibels, but did you know it was once a paper/pencil assessment also?  

Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com
Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com
Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

Let’s begin!  These next 15 weeks are some of your greatest opportunities to o serve your mentor teacher, other teachers in the building, as well as beginning or continuing to interact with students.  Once you begi student teaching, your time for observing will be limited.  You will be focused on planning for each day’s instruction.  If your mentor teacher is giving an assessment that doesn’t require you to be in the roo, has your MT for suggestions.  Who teaches math well?  Who is excellent with classroom management?  Who does well with disruptive students?  Can I watch small groups with the special education teacher?  You will love and agree with some strategies, you will disagree and cringe sometimes.  Example:  I’ve heard experienced teachersmake derogatory remarks such as ‘his head is full of rocks, he doesn’t have a clue, The elevator doesn’t reach the top floor.  Just walk away.  Take it as something you will do better with.  All kiddos have strengths.  They may not be academic strengths, and I know. You’ll feel the pressure to make every student achieve.  Sometimes a student’s achievement means they don’t need objects to count with anymore.  It may mean they are using the bathroom on their own.  It may mean they are learning to use a talking board.  Success looks different for each one of them.  

Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com
Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

Perhaps this is week two of the school year. While week one was a whirlwind of activity and getting to know your students, week two is the time to tighten up those procedures and routines that aren’t working well. Resetting can take place as often as you need BEFORE things feel out of control.  

It is so valuable to reflect on how it’s going and which problems are in the way.  In this episode, I’ll offer you a few solutions for the first weeks of school.   Ways to begin or continue with good habits.  As the weeks turn into months, it is so easy to fall back into old habits and ways of doing things. 

Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com
Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

Welcome back! Students will be excited to see you. By the end of the day, they'll be dragging and so will you. Pace yourself through this week.  When your district asks for input this year, tell them THURSDAY is a much better starting day for the first week of school.  It will be exhausting for all of you. 

Plan for breaks, time outdoors, the most necessary routines, and getting to know your students.  Learn to pronounce their names correctly.  NEA offered this tip-when you mispronounce their name, THEY get a piece of candy. When YOU get it right, YOU get the candy. Names matter.  

YOU matter.  THAN YOU for being a teacher today!

Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com
Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

To begin with, social-emotional learning isn’t new, it didn’t begin with the pandemic.  Technology of many kinds has changed the ways we communicate with one another in all situations.  Not just phones, not just the internet. While I used to knock on my friend’s door to see if she could play, many parents now schedule play dates.  My friends and I would negotiate which game to play or whose house to play at.  Most families have two parents working by necessity. Perhaps children aren’t allowed outside while parents are working. The most recent curriculum adoptions in schools involve quite a bit more solitary work answering questions on a laptop, without opportunities for students to work together. 

But here’s what I’ve noticed is lacking and what you can do to improve the relationships and climate in your classroom..  I promise, it’s simple, especially at the beginning of the year as you are getting to know students.  I’ve noticed that the end of a lesson just falls flat, or it ends with a short video demonstrating the skill, or, I’m sorry, but worse still- a worksheet.  INSTEAD   Put students into small groups.  The materials don’t matter.  They can work on writing a short story together, they can stack blocks, they can separate legos into colors and sizes, they can organize the classroom library.

Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com
Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics