My Eyes Are Broken

Apparently, my left eye is broken.  I went to the eye doctor yesterday because my prescription has been off since I got it three weeks ago. I close my left eye and my right one seems ok, but when I close my right eye, my left eye is all blurry. I look like a little old woman, because I keep tilting my head back to see through the bottom of my lenses...but I don't have bifocals. I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but clearly (pun intended) something had to change.

I'm pretty used to having eye issues. I've had glasses since I was in the fourth grade and I couldn't read the board (sound familiar to you lifelong nearsighted people?) This was the eighties, so my glasses were big. My brothers used to lick their fingers and stick them on my glasses. This, by the way, is super gross. Don't do it. When I go in for an eye appointment, I dread it the whole time because I'm pretty sure I'm going to mess it up. That will only make sense to you if you stress out over this like I do. But I went in for a follow-up anyway because glasses aren't cheap, and I'd really like to be able to see through them. This is how it went: He said, "So what's the trouble with your new prescription?" I said, "My left eye vision is blurry, and I feel like I have to look through the bottom half of my lenses to see clearly." He said, "Oh, I hear that a lot from people with strong prescriptions. There's not much we can do about it." Sheesh, am I paying for this service? As soon as I sit down behind those creepy lens-changer thingies, I immediately feel like I'm in a staring contest. I blink and blink, and my eyes water. Then they're completely dry. He clicks through the lenses - one better? or two? Three or four better? - and I totally stress out and blink compulsively, trying to keep up. Please tell me this happens to you. It would make me feel better. He told me to read the lowest line I could with my right eye. I read the fourth line (there were five) Then he told me to read the lowest line I could with my left eye. I read the second line. Ummm, that's a problem, right?

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He went through the whole mess - one or two? seven or eight? - and I freaked out the whole time. I couldn't trust my own judgment! I already messed this up once! My stress levels shot through the roof and I spent the whole time blinking. Finally, at the end of all of that, he said, "Well, it looks like your right eye can just read more letters than your left eye, no matter what."  Ummmm.....Yeah. That's why I'm here. "Isn't that why we need  prescriptions? Because eyes see differently?" I asked, being brave, but sounding incredibly stupid. He didn't answer. "Well," I tried again," Isn't there some prescription that will help my left eye see as well as my right? Or did I run out of prescriptions?" I laughed, hoping that wasn't possible. He looked at me and said, "Don't you write better with one hand than the other?" I wanted to say, "Do you make prescriptions for handwriting?" but I didn't. I just said, "I mean, with the prescription. Shouldn't my left eye be able to see well with the prescription?"  And then he said - and here it is - "I can't answer that question. I'm not exactly sure what the question is." What? I'm sorry, did you just say that you can't tell me what's wrong with my eyes? Isn't that kind of your job? Teachers, did you know you could do that? You can say, "Yeah, I don't know what that question means, so...you know, I'm just not going to answer it. Peace out."Wow, that's going to save me a lot of time! So apparently, my left eye is broken, unfixable, and nothing anyone can do will fix it. My friend suggested that I put on a black eyepatch and just call it a day. Fortunately, I found a site that sells designer eye patches, so...there's that. Oh, and can anyone recommend a new optometrist?  At least I like my new frames. 

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Best Advice Ever, according to my mother

My mother is a tough woman. I mean, don't get me wrong. She'll make you whatever you want for your birthday dinner, and water your planets when you're out of town (if you ask nicely). But she is no-nonsense, of the best sort.

With her, there is no such thing as a good excuse. And that's where I learned my best advice ever.

Get ready. It's a big one.
 

You always have time for the thing you do first.

That might sound pretty ridiculous, and pretty obvious, too, and when you're a 14-year-old kid who just wants to hide in the bathroom and read all day instead of completing your mandatory chore list before your mom comes home, you can't even listen to it seriously. She says, "You always have time for the things you do first!" and you hear, "Wah-wah-wah-wah-wah," like Charlie Brown's teacher.

But as I got older, and my time management became my responsibility and mine alone, I thought,

"Hmmm...maybe there's something to that."

I started scheduling my day starting with the most important and essential tasks. I went to sleep thinking about what I was going to do first the next day, and when I woke up, I was ready to get started! I had the right mental attitude, and what's more, I had enough time to do the thing I was supposed to do!

People, it's true. And it works!

It works at home:

You do the chore you are least excited about but must be done. You save the Seinfeld-watching until later (let's just assume this is the best-case scenario).

It works at school:

You teach the subject you are least excited about first! You know you'll get to writing (if you love writing) and you know you'll get to science (if you love science), but if you really don't love math, consider putting it first.

You do not enjoy grading the kids' notebook entries, so instead of putting it off, you do it as soon as they go to PE. You know, first! First in your conference period!

What?! And after you do it, you're done! With that horrible task you didn't want to do! And you have the rest of your conference period to do whatever else you need to do! (I'm pretending the world is perfect, and you don't have 900 meetings during your conference period.) And you don't have to take them home!

 

So the next time you see your day stretching before you, and you think of those tasks you really don't want to do, and the remote calls to you, saying, "Seinfeld is on Hulu!" just say, "I'll get to you later! You always have time for the things you do first!"

 

I know it's pretty duh advice, but really, if you try it, you might feel better about what you accomplish.

  Check out the other great advice at Georgia Grown Kiddos!   Pin It

Makeover! Made-over Product Giveaway!

So everybody can use a makeover sometimes, right? Honestly, if someone credible walked up to me and said, "Girl, you need a makeover," I'd say, "Yes, please. I don't know what else to do with all this." and then I'd let them be in charge.   That's probably not going to happen.    So instead, I did a product makeover! I mean, someone should feel pretty, right?  

I made over one of my dumpy old products. It was from my first year on TPT.  It was sad. So sad.

And now it's not! Now it's happy and shiny and new! 

It includes this adorable craftivity (which my kids loved)  

  If you already downloaded my Government Pack, please download it again for the nice, new version.    I also made over my hideous Genre Study Book from four years ago. I'm so excited with the new design! 

 

If you've already purchased it, please download it again for the nice, new version!   And if you haven't bought it yet, here's your chance to get it for free! Just leave me a comment with the which product you'd rather win: the Genre Study Book or the Government Pack. I'll choose three winners over the weekend! Good luck!      Pin It

What Do Instructional Coaches Do?

About three years ago, I made the move from teaching third grade (previously, fourth grade) to being a Literacy Coach. It was a big one.
 
I accepted the position in July, and then I cried about it every day for over a month. Then school started and I had no time to cry. (Except for the first day, when I sat in my new Literacy Coach room, devoid of students and new school supplies, and pathetically thought, "No one needs me. I'm useless. I've made a huge mistake."
 

That was the last time I ever felt that way, by the way. Now I feel like, "How many places can I be at once? If I can only be in three places at once today, maybe I can accomplish what I wrote on my schedule."

Because now I know the answer to the big question: What do literacy coaches do all day?

I've been asked that question by many people from online teaching land. They're teachers who are interested in becoming literacy coaches, for the most part. And a few of them have been teachers who just accepted the role as an instructional coach at a school and are really nervous. I understand. So here's my best attempt at describing what we do all day. Keep in mind, this totally depends on your district, principal, and job description. Every school has its own needs. These are just the things I do the most.

1. We support teachers.

This is, by far, where I spend most of my time and it's the most important thing! We have to build our teachers up!  Supporting teachers can take on a lot of vestiges. It can include...

     * Modeling lessons or strategies in the teachers' classrooms.

     * Setting up teachers to observe each other.

     * Planning with teachers using our curriculum from the district, state standards, our resources, and our ideas!

     *Meeting with teachers about specific concerns or questions they are having. Teachers may have me come in and observe students and meet with them afterwards to discuss what they can do to help them. They may have concerns about how their kids did on a recent assessment, so we sit down and look at the tests together and figure out next steps. Or they may even just want to discuss scheduling issues or worries, or advice. 

     *Doing tasks that will help teachers out. Of course, this has to happen within reason. For example, I couldn't take a day to make all the copies the teachers need for their upcoming lessons. But if it would help an entire grade level for me to lay out a rubric they brainstormed and have it made into posters, I'll do it. Or maybe they're trying to build an assessment that tests certain standards. I'll write it for them and save a copy for next year. I make the copies of our DRA for the teachers to save them time.

     *Visiting classrooms. I pop in to classrooms across the school every week or two to see how we're doing. I can evaluate how kids are receiving the instruction and look for areas to address in upcoming PLCs or professional developments.

     *RtI: I schedule, coordinate, and sit in on RtI. We host meetings a few times a year, provide suggestions/feedback/next steps to teachers, and hopefully meet our students' needs.

2. We work with small groups of students.

You have to be careful with this one. While I love working with students, and I miss having a class of my own (as demonstrated by my pathetic outcry on my first day), it would be very easy to spend your entire day working with students. This might sound fine, until you think about how your job is to support and help grow teachers and your entire school.

 

If you are meeting with six students in a small group for forty-five minutes a day, that's almost four hours a week that you aren't working with teachers. It adds up, surprisingly fast. So choose your groups carefully and limit the time you schedule to work with them. We identify students on the cusp of success and I work with them on a regular schedule. I review the data the teachers have about those students and I plan lessons to address their areas of need.

3. We analyze data.

Data can be less-than-fun, and we have to be careful about what it actually means. Interpretation can be inaccurate when we don't consider all the necessary factors. However, as a literacy coach, you have to understand what is happening in your classrooms, so it's important to keep up with how the kids have demonstrated their skills on the assessments they are given. Then, this data has to be shared with teachers to discuss what you will do about it! We meet once a week with each grade level to discuss any new data and figure out what to do next.

4. We plan and deliver professional development to the campus.

 

This is very important. The best professional development models are the ones where the trainer stays on campus! You can follow up with teachers and see how the learning is panning out in the classrooms.

I have conducted trainings on school instructional initiatives like guided reading, shared reading, word study, writing, district required assessments, understanding state assessments, and depths of knowledge.
 

I've also hosted school-wide, grade level, and optional book studies on various books and topics. I  throw in a little professional development during our PLCs where we plan for new units. During that time, I try to share new strategies we might want to include in our upcoming plans.

 

5. We plan and run school-wide events and programs.

 

This is a very fun part of my job. School-wide events include family literacy nights, our fun book buddies program, reading and English camps, and our new reading lounge. I also write a family literacy newsletter a few times a year and help run our 25 Book Campaign and our Read Across America celebration. I put up bulletin boards and displays for different events or themes, work with the librarian on our bookmark design contest, and I host the Harry Potter Book Club!

 
I started building up our multiple copies lending library and we have our end of year writing contest coming up. Honestly, these events can be kind of stressful, but if that was all I did all day, I'd have a blast! Who doesn't love to plan an afternoon making golden snitches and figure out where to find enough griddles for a Book Buddies Breakfast!

6. We do whatever the principal wants us to do.

I'm very lucky. My principal is an intelligent, kind, and excellent person. I have been blessed to work for someone who understands literacy, kids, and schools. You might not be so blessed (just sayin'). The things my principal wants me to do, while they sometimes mount up and can be almost insurmountable, are usually good things.

We  meet once a week for a few hours on a leadership team to plan next steps and see how we're doing. Sometimes we might be to help out at awards ceremonies, or spend some time in a particular classroom. We might work with another person to coordinate trainings, or to pull in a group of kids for intervention. We also will be asked to administer small group state testing, or other boring but necessary stuff. So it can be a mixed bag. Choose your administrator wisely.

7. We do whatever central office wants us to do.

Again, it's a mixed bag. Sometimes it's great stuff - my latest assignment is to assemble the awesome Scholastic guided reading library they purchased us! But sometimes, it's to deliver trainings to other campuses or to attend meetings that may or may not meet my teachers' needs. It's all part of the job!

 8. We are always thinking about how to help our school.

 

I collect books that "might be good for something," and I make connections with organizations who can donate books to our campus. I write grants and hunt for great blogs and ideas to share. I read professional books to figure out what we can do to improve the way we work with children and each other. I participate in Leadership meetings every week to monitor our progress and think about next steps.

And most of all, I worry. I worry about our people and our work all the time. Just like you do. I consider the teachers my class, because they are my responsibility, just like a teachers' kids are hers. And I care about them and want them to be successful. 

Does this sound familiar to you instructional coaches? If you're looking into being a coach, just know it's a great job. I love what I do. Anybody about to make the move out of the classroom?

I've put together a nice bundle of pages from my Instructional Coaching MegaPack to help get started, and it's free!

If you're just getting started as an instructional coach, this resource is for you! It's my ebook, The Start-Up Guide to Instructional Coaching: How to make a real difference on your campus. It's over 80 pages of information to help you get the ball rolling on your campus!

Want some help in getting started? My Start-Up Course for Instructional Coaches is free! It's full of videos, tips, and tools to help you get started as a coach. Learn about roles & responsibilities of coaches, organizing, and how to visit classrooms and provide feedback (and so much more).

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Potter Fans: Harry Potter Book Club Activities

Harry Potter Fan Club!   Is that not the best reason to go to work? Every Wednesday, from 3:00 to 4:00, an adorable group of students arrives at my room to read Harry Potter. They are the cutest, because they are staying after school, by choice, to read!    I started out by inviting any interested Potter Fans:  

After we started reading, one of the early activities we did was making bookmarks to mark our books!

  After Harry got his wand at Ollivander's, we logged on to http://www.pottermore.com to see what wand we  would receive!

When we read about Harry and Ron on the Hogwarts Express, we made these chocolate frog boxes using this template I found at The Leaky Cauldron.

I had students choose their most interesting character and we started these character maps, using evidence from the text that shows us what the character is like!

 

 

We started a couple handy charts based on the kids' observations after reading a few chapters.

We hunted for characteristics of each Hogwarts house.

 After they noticed the connections between Harry and Voldemort, we started a Venn diagram.

We used an online quiz to figure out which house each student is in (BTW, I'm totally down with Hufflepuff).

 And then we worked on creating our house crests!

We took pictures and put it all together for a nice little display outside my classroom door! The Potter Fans are in!

We made some fun golden snitches using these materials: styrofoam balls, spray glue (which I managed to spray pretty much all over my table, and papers stuck there for weeks), glitter, sparkly pipe cleaners, and sparkly gold foam fun felt.

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A Rainforest Museum for Earth Day!

I've been teaching for twelve years. Unfortunately, I really didn't start documenting and photographing my teaching  until about four years ago. That means there are about eight undocumented years of teaching. And that really stinks, because during that time I remember doing some very awesome stuff with my kids. 

There was the year we collected funds for the World Wildlife Fund, made informative presentations about endangered species, and invited classes from around the school to learn about why we should protect the environment.

A jaguar in its rainforest habitat.

There was the year we made books based on "When I Was Young in the Mountains." Each student wrote a memoir and created a bare book to read to their little first grade buddies.

I don't have one single picture of these events. So please, take pictures of your teaching. You'll wish you had them.

Today, I came across a set of pictures about six years ago that I didn't know I had. They were from our fourth grade museum.

For several years in a row, the fourth grade hosted "Fourth Grade Science Museums" at the end of the school year. We chose a science topic that we had to teach at that time and each section took a different part of it. For example, one year, we divided up the Earth and Space standards among six sections and I got the objects in the sky part. Another year, we divided up the Changes to Earth standards, and I took fast changes - volcanoes and earthquakes.

A lemur, lollygagging in a rainforest tree.

This was the year of the biomes. Each teacher took one biome, and I had the rainforest. We. Had. A. Blast. I took black butcher paper and covered the entire back wall of our room. Each student received colored chalk to create a mural of the rainforest. It was beautiful! Of course, I don't have pictures of that.

Each student chose an animal to research. We used Zoobooks from the classroom, library books, and a multitude of resources online. I provided a list of some great places to get rainforest research below.

The golden lion tamarind, resting against a tree.

After gathering their information, students created a short presentation about their animal. At home, they built a model of the animal including important details about their habitats. 

They each created a book about their animal. I provided each student with a small bare book and we discussed how to create a nonfiction book - we planned out the pages: life cycle, food chain, a description of the animal's habitat and more. Then we added glossaries in the back. I love having students create books! Bare books are the best investment!

The last piece was a powerpoint presentation - each student added one slide about their animals to a class presentation. We projected it and left it on a loop. Classes from across the grade and a few from around the school were invited to come and visit our presentation. We set up a schedule to visit each others' classes. The students were so proud to share their learning! And I truly believe it helped increase their environmental consciousness. 

Students teaching each other about their animals.

Teaching about the rainforest? Check out these resources:

Books

Rain, Rain, Rainforest

The Great Kapok Tree

Magic Tree House Rainforest Guide

I love these Magic Tree House guides - 

full of great information and very readable!

Websites

National Geographic for Kids: Animals

Scholastic Research Starters: Rainforest

What is a Rainforest?

Research in the Rainforest

Enchanted Learning: All About Rainforests

Animal Fact Guide

And here's a handy product to use with The Greak Kapok Tree. It integrates the story, reading about rainforest animals, and ideas for extensions! Grab it on TPT!

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