The Classroom Commute

ALL SUCCESSFUL LESSONS HAVE A FEW THINGS IN COMMON.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been guilty more than once of making myself the star of the show - meaning - as a teacher - I often made the lessons more about me.  

Me — standing in front of the classroom with my anchor charts, doing all the talking, inviting minimal participation.  When I did invite participation, I was sure to call on those students that I know would have the answers.

Guilty, as charged. 

But - I’ve noticed, and I’m sure YOU’VE noticed that the days of standing in front of the classroom while students just listen and absorb just don’t work.  

And to be honest - it likely never worked, we just didn’t know any better.  It may have worked for some students - the ones that can learn in basically any environment — but for the students that needed to be more engaged, more interactive - not so much.

So, today, I want to explore 6 components or elements of a successful lesson.

Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode

EPISODE 94: 3 Tips for Increasing Student Success (That You Can Start Using TODAY!)

POST: Giving Students More Choice in the Classroom

LINKtivity: 5 Regions of the United States

Join the LINKtivity Learning Membership and get access to my entire vault of LINKtivity Interactive Learning Guides - Click here to join.

WHAT IS A 21ST CENTURY CLASSROOM?If you have been tuning in to the podcast the past few weeks, you may have picked up on the fact that I’ve been putting a lot of focus on the modern classroom, and what’s actually working right now.  
I’ve also been challenging some of the teaching ideas and practices that have dominated in the classroom for the past decade or so, and have really been questioning whether or not they are relevant anymore.

We first talked about whether or not learning styles are a myth (learning styles like visual learners vs auditory learners vs kinesthetic learners...etc)  — you know all those educational philosophies you were likely taught in college.  
We then talked about what’s working right now in the classroom to increase student success.  These strategies draw upon modern best teaching practices  -things that maybe we didn’t do 10 or so years ago. 
All of this conversation has begun to set the stage to a larger question:
What is a 21st century classroom?

If education is changing (which it totally is...).  If some of the educational philosophies that played a larger role and had a bigger influence on our teaching practices are no longer relevant...then where does that leave us? 

How can we begin creating a 21st century, modern-day classroom that can meet the demands of the students in our classrooms TODAY?

Well, we are just starting this journey, my friend.  Because there is a lot to unpack - but I first want to start today with laying the groundwork for what it means to be a 21st century classroom.  That way, as we move forward in our discussion, you can reflect on how it compares to your own classroom.
So let’s get started!

Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode

EPISODE 45: How to Use Rubrics for Assessment AND Instruction

EPISODE 55: Easy Tips to Boost Student Participation While Building a Strong Classroom Community

EPISODE 90: Using Podcasts in the Elementary Classroom

EPISODE 91: The TRUTH About Learning Styles

EPISODE 94: 3 Tips for Increasing Student Success

Join the LINKtivity Learning Membership and get access to my entire vault of LINKtivity Interactive Learning Guides - Click here to join.

RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR STUDENTS SUCCEED. 🙋🏻

OK, I think I already know the answer to that question, but it’s worth asking out loud. 

Of course you want your students to succeed!  It’s likely one of the main reasons you became a teacher (that and to have holidays and summers off, if we’re being honest)

But actually GETTING our students to be successful is certainly a challenge.

Well, I’ve actually been doing a lot of research lately on the causes of student success and what actually helps students to be successful.

And what I’m finding is that, although there are some tried-and-true teaching methods that stand the test of time, there is cause for some true reflection on best teaching practices.  

What’s working right now in the classroom?  

What are the needs of today’s students?  And how have these need changed over the past 5, 10 or even 15 years.  

The needs have definitely changed (and our awareness of these needs has certainly been elevated), but our ways of teaching practices may have not caught up to these changes.

So, I actually wanted to invite you along on this journey of researching and studying so that we can all become better educators and supporter of our students.

Here on the podcast I’m going to begin exploring what is means to be a 21st century classroom.  I’m seeking out new ways that we can help our students succeed in a changing world.

In this week’s episode, I’ll start by sharing 3 tips for increasing student success (all based on current research findings and best teaching practices)

But don’t worry - I’m not just gonna throw out a bunch of research data at you, because that would be boring…

I’m going to give you some actionable strategies for your classroom so that we can take what we are learning and apply it directly to the students you are teaching.

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE

EPISODE 91: The TRUTH About Learning Styles

LINKtivity Membership - Click here to join. 

Grab my FREE LINKtivity here!

Students don't just need to grow academically.

As teachers, we aim to teach the whole child, right?

This of course includes helping our students learn to read and write and everything in between.

But - we also want to help our students learn that they have control over their ability to learn.  They can train their brains to push through when things get challenging.  

Students have the ability to see failures as learning opportunities, to see struggles and successes in the making.

This is at the heart of growth mindset.  It’s the idea that learning is a journey, a process - not a talent.  Having a growth mindset can help students on all levels, abilities, and walks of life to overcome obstacles and develop a love of learning.

In this week’s episode, I have brought back on our resident expert on social emotional learning, Victoria from The Mindful Apple.  

As a school social worker, Victoria works with teachers and students alike to help develop a growth mindset so that they can be successful, not just in the classroom, but in life.

Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode

EPISODE 60: Easy Calming Strategies for Elementary Students

EPISODE 86: Making Social Emotional Learning MORE Than a Buzzword

RESOURCE: FREE Growth Mindset Sort 

Victoria’s Social Emotional Learning Curriculum 

Connect with Victoria:

• Join The Mindful Apple community for your weekly brain food : tips, strategies, and resources for your social emotional tool kit! 
• Shop social emotional resources for the elementary classroom
• Learn with Victoria at TheMindfulApple.com

SO, YOU WANT TO TRY INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS, EH?

Of course you do!  They’re super cool and students love them.

But, they aren’t just something you can start without putting a little thought into it.

In fact, launching into using interactive notebooks with your students without thinking through the process from start to finish could leave you in puddles of glue and up to your elbows in paper scraps.  

And no one has time for that!

So, come along with me in this episode.  I’ll be sure to help set you up for success so that interactive notebooks can provide meaningful and authentic learning experiences for your students.

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:

POST: Setting Up Classroom Routines and Procedures

RESOURCE on TpT: Interactive Notebook 

Grab my FREE Interactive Notebook Rubric 

ARE STUDENT LEARNING STYLES A MYTH?

I remember very few things about what I learned in my college education classes.

Most of what I learned about being a successful teacher I learned through my actual experiences in the classroom.

But - there is one things I DO remember.  Does multiple intelligences ring a bell, anyone?

How about learning styles?

In college you, too, likely learned all about the different ways your students interact with and process new information - we refer to these as learning styles.  

I was taught that we all have our own unique style of learning — a programmed way of how we like to consume new concepts.  And, by absorbing new information in the way that fits this learning style, we learn better.  

Seems to make sense, right?

Well - recent studies show that this theory just simply doesn’t hold up.

Bummer.

Or is it?

In this week’s episode, I unpack these new findings and explore what it actually means for students and teachers.

PODCASTS ARE THE *NEW* LISTENING CENTER… (& SO.MUCH.MORE)

I can still remember.  It was 2006 and it was my first year of teaching.  One of my friend’s mom wanted to help out a first year teacher (me) by sponsoring my classroom.  She asked what I needed and I told her that I desperately wanted a listening center for my classroom. 

Being the new teacher, I got last pick on supplies.  All the good stuff was taken and the only thing that resembled a listening center was a super old tape player.

Imagine my complete delight when I got a beautiful new (blue) listening center that could play cassette tapes AND CD’s.  It came with 6 headphones and and adapter to plug all 6 in at the same time.

It.was.glorious.

The listening center got a LOT of use over the years.  I went to the library often to borrow books on tape and I even began recording my own.

Fast forward 15+ years later.

Listening centers are about to get a major upgrade!

Enter: podcasts!

Have you considered using podcasts in your classroom for your students?  They aren’t just for adults anymore.  In fact, with over 2 MILLION active podcasts, there is no shortage on podcasts for everyone - including kids!

There are so many ways that podcasts can enhance student learning and in this week’s episode, we’ll begin to just scratch the surface!

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE

RESOURCES FOR MAKING YOUR OWN PODCAST: 

• Audacity 
• Anchor 
• Spreaker

PODCASTS FOR KIDS:

The 25 Best Podcasts for Kids

Best Podcasts for Kids of All Ages

19 Great Learning Podcasts for the Classroom

Grab my FREE Kid Podcast Recording Sheet inside the Members Resource Library under “Student Assessment Resources.”

REFLECTION FUELS GROWTH.

In September of 2011, I started a journey and had NO IDEA where that journey would bring me.

Well, let me tell you, it been a journey.  And I have learned so much about myself as an educator and as a person.  I believe that we go further when we stop often to reflect upon where we’ve been.

If we want our students to reflect on their progress and their journey, then we must also develop those same habits.

In this episode, I’m sharing 10 of the most valuable lessons that I’ve learned since starting and growing The Classroom Nook.  I hope that these lessons are not only true for myself, but that you may also find that they speak to your own growth and progress as an educator.

GROWTH COMES FROM GOAL-SETTING.

We can teach until we are blue in the face, but often, we take the one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to reading.

We teach everyone the same skills and strategies…at the same time.

But the problem is, students are often in different places when it comes to their most immediate need.  And while it’s fine to teach a reading topic to the whole class, we must also make sure that we are giving equal instructional time and attention to the individual reading needs of our students.

That’s where individual student goals can help.

In this week’s episode, I’ll be covering why it’s important to have your students set individual reading goals and how to help them achieve those goals through an action plan.  

Readers come in all shapes and sizes, so let’s make sure our approach to reading is custom-made by helping students develop goals that help them to grow!

Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode

EPISODE 31: How to Use a Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook in the Upper Elementary Classroom 

EPISODE 87: Developing Student Writing Goals & Why Your Students Need Them!

POST: Teaching Students to Choose "Just Right" Books During Independent Reading

RESOURCES:

• Student Reader’s Notebook
• Launching Reader’s Workshop

Grab my FREE “Just Right” Bookmark inside the Members Resource Library under “Reading Resources.”