My dog is not normal.

I think something's wrong with my dog Stevie.

I have two dogs. (I used to have three, but our dear Penny passed away a few months ago.) My two dogs are Lucy, who is very smart, enjoys taking walks, can sit and follow basic directions, and is incredibly loving. When you look into Lucy's eyes, you see what a person she is.

And then there's Stevie, who is... none of those things. He can't follow basic directions or sit or stay, he's completely self-preserving, and when you look in Stevie's eyes, you see shiny little black eyeballs. And that's it.

Don't misunderstand me - I love Stevie. He's an adorable little pup, and very sweet.

But...there's something wrong there. I can't say what it is exactly, but he's just not...normal.

It took him almost two years to learn how to run into his kennel. Now, if we only did this every once in a while, I could understand it. But we bring him in every single night, put his food bowl in his kennel, and say, "Go to bed."

He runs to the kennel, and then he sits and stares at it and cries. And then I scootch him in and he's perfectly happy. He just couldn't bring himself to walk inside of his own volition.

So the other day, I had a genius idea. I thought, "I'm going to take Lucy AND Stevie on a walk!" This might not sound like such an amazing idea. The only reason I never took Stevie on a walk before is because Penny didn't like walking (being a stubby dachsund) and so I'd leave Stevie behind to keep her company while I took Lucy on a walk. Which she loves. Like a normal dog.

And I thought, "Well, Lucy loves to walk, and Stevie loves to be with Lucy! He'll be so happy!" 

So I harness up my two dogs, (this was a whole feat in itself - putting a collar on Stevie is like putting a collar on a goldfish) and of course, Lucy is already pulling at the reigns, ready to drag me down the street. And then I look back at Stevie. He's whimpering and jerking his head back and forth to get free of the leash.

And I stupidly thought, "Well, maybe we just have to get started."

I opened the front door, and Lucy blasted forward. I peeked back at Stevie, the leash curled around my legs, and I saw his look of fear. His eyes looked into mine and silently cried, "Leave me! Just save yourself!"

I shut the door behind us and strode out confidently, thinking, "Once we get going, he'll see how nice it is. He'll like taking walks." I start down the sidewalk, taking nice long strides. The weather was beautiful - golden sunlight on a January afternoon. My two lovely dogs and I are out for a walk on a gorgeous day.

Lucy continued to pull at the leash ahead, and I felt a tug, tug on Stevie's leash behind. I look back and realized I am literally dragging my dog down the street. He's sitting down on his tush with his legs out in front like a baby, and and he's absolutely refusing to budge. But I didn't know this, I'm basically pulling him along like a little furry wagon.

And I stupidly thought, "Oh, maybe he'll get rolling once we're down the street a bit."

I want you to picture this: Lucy clawing forward, trying to drag me (and Steve) down the street. And Stevie whimpering three feet behind me, his butt planted firmly on the ground and sliding down the sidewalk as I drag him along. I can only imagine what my neighbors thought.

I finally gave up and carried him all the way back home. You know, I make myself look goofy enough all by myself. I don't need Steve's help to look stupid.

 

So anyway, now I know that I'll still be taking one-dog walks. Because Stevie isn't smart enough to...walk. And as Lucy and I walk down the street, Stevie will whimper and whine that he isn't being included. But I know better.

Please tell me I'm not the only one with a dog like Steve.

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4 critical questions for managing your time as an instructional coach

Look at your to-do list. I mean, really look at it. Does it look crazy? Impossible? Completely absurd?

This list is like any other: full of important, time-sensitive, necessary things. It's also full of small, chore-like, and not-so-important things. It's just a list of things that need to be done.

If you've taken my previous advice, this list is housed in your notebook which you carry everywhere and stacked on top of your one calendar of important dates. So that's a start.

But even with a list, it's easy to be overwhelmed. What do you do first? What should you add to the list? How do you spend your time?

Over the last few years as an instructional coach, I've been thinking about this question. What's important? I still don't have the answers, but I do have a few questions that help me think about it more clearly.

  1. Will this task encourage or grow better teaching practice? 
You are an instructional coach for teachers. Your job is to push, pull, grow greatness in your teachers. That doesn't mean you are better than them - I personally know many teachers who I think are truly incredible and I have learned from them. But if you see an opportunity from your third-person perspective, it's your job to make it happen. That's where most of your time should be spent.

Some examples:
- Modeling! This is huge!
- Coteaching
- Observing teachers
- Providing quality feedback and coaching one-on-one
- Mentoring new teachers
- Sharing resources with teachers
- Researching new or tried-and-true instructional strategies
- Planning quality trainings for teachers and delivering those trainings

2. Will this task result in long-term gains in student learning?
Obviously, if the work you do doesn't impact kids, it's not worth it. That's the bottom line really: support teachers to support kids. This doesn't always look the same. These are some tasks that might support long-term gains in student learning:

Some examples:
- Reviewing data and planning next steps with teachers
- Becoming learned in and training teachers in new strategies to support learners in need of intervention or extension. This might include attending (quality) trainings, reading books and articles, or communicating with your PLN.
- Planning an intervention plan with teachers whose students are in need
- Observing a small group of students during class to provide support to their teacher

3. Will this task empower teachers?
That's your job! The way you've 'made it' as an instructional coach is (sadly) when your teachers don't need you! Isn't that what we want for our kids? We want them to become independent learners who use the inquiry model to figure out problems in their lives. That's exactly what we want for our teachers, too!

Some examples:
- Working with a cadre of teachers on a new campus initiative
- Planning with teachers during PLC
- Working with teachers to put together a pitch for admin
 
4. Will this task build a positive, supportive relationship with teachers?
I think this is incredibly important, even if it's not considered so popular. No one wants to learn or work with someone if they don't value their opinion. You can't walk in the door and tell teachers what to do. Without a positive, supportive, and respectful relationship, you're dead in the water.

Sometimes tasks are important because the people they are for are important.

Some examples:
- Writing a thank-you note to a teacher who has gone out of her way to support her colleagues or you.
- Creating a resource that teachers need but don't have the time to make themselves.
- Writing thoughtful feedback to a teacher who has asked for help
- Looking into resources that might assist a teacher who's asked for help
- Listening to teachers' struggles and accomplishments
- Building a positive relationship with teachers through honest communication - take the time to really listen and share honestly
 

A few thoughts on prioritizing:
Some tasks have to be done. Bulletin boards, for example, might not exactly fit into one of these categories, but it has to happen every now and then, and it creates a positive school environment. Monitoring the cafeteria for the Thanksgiving luncheon doesn't exactly achieve a long-term literacy goal, but it is part of the job and does serve an important purpose. That's just the reality.

Some things can only be accomplished when teachers and students are actively teaching and learning! You can't observe teachers' instructional methods when the kids are at home. Build your schedule around the school day. Tasks like copies, creating resources, and planning your trainings can be done after school or when kids are at lunch or PE. Tasks like observing classrooms, modeling, and observing kids can only be done when they're in the classroom.

If you're going to be out for training, make it count. You can only do the work of the campus when you're on campus. Coaches who like to schedule trainings all the time because they 'love the learning' are only fighting half the battle.

No matter what you learn, if you're not on campus enough to turn it around and provide consistent support, you're missing the opportunity to grow your teachers and kids. And that's your job. 

Choose only the best and most essential trainings to attend, and make a plan to turn the best of those trainings around to your teachers.

I made a sample week's log of things I usually do, in case it will help you out! Download it from Google Docs!

Getting started in coaching? Check out 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 started on the right foot!

And if you're interested in more materials, visit TPT to check out my Instructional Coaching MegaPack! It's over 140 pages of documentation, records, organizational tools, observation forms, planning guides and more, for instructional coaches!

Tools for instructional coaches on TPT

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10 Ugly Truths about My Winter Break

You know the drill. It's December 31 and I can see the end of my winter break looming ever closer. 

Without the structure of a school day, I've basically been a misshapen lump growing out of my couch. Like Homer, I've worn butt-grooves into the cushion. No one else will be comfortable on that couch ever again; I have claimed it. 

There are many ugly truths about how I have squandered my time this winter break. Here are ten of them.

10. I have eaten cookies instead of dinner on three different occasions. I didn't set out to eat cookies instead of dinner. It just happened. I started eating cookies at about, oh, three-thirty, and continued eating them until about seven, at which point I realized three things: It was seven, I'd been eating cookies for three and a half hours, and I was no longer hungry for anything of value. So I ate a few more cookies and called it a night.

9. I spent an obscene amount at after-Christmas sales. This one is kind of a secret (that I'm not sharing with the world via blogland). After Christmas, I buy a TON of gifts for throughout the year and for, yes, next Christmas. I have a special closet I keep the gifts in, and a list with everyone I love and what I've already bought for them. This year, I bought a LOT of gifts after Christmas... and a few decorations (read: fifty decorations).

8. The hour I want to open a bottle of wine has crept forward, to the point that now, at 2:30, I'm thinking... "Well, it's closer to five pm than eight am, right?"

7. I don't think I've actually had any water to drink since two days before Christmas. My beverage list is as follows: hot chocolate, coffee, wine, hot tea, a delicious sweet concoction called Rumchata, Butterscotch Schnapps, and Irish Cream.

6. I'm not sure how many hours I've spent staring at my cat and thinking about how much I'd like to be one. Cats don't go to work. Cats go where they want. Cats get attention when they want it, and they don't when they don't. Cats have it all.

5. I have watched absolute garbage on TV. You won't believe me if I tell you, but let's just say it included the epitome of awful Christmas specials: A Very Brady Christmas. Yes, I went there.

4. If I made even one out of every ten Tasty videos I've watched, I could open a restaurant. I am absolutely addicted to those short, action-packed recipe videos. Everything looks incredible: Garlic Parmesan Potato Wedges? Yum! Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes? Oh, yes! Nutella Cream Cheese Turnovers? I'll take two!

 I dare you to watch that without drooling.

3. I haven't shaved my legs in a week and a half. I look more like Chewy than Leia.

2. I only wear shoes when I leave the house, which means 90% of this break, I've worn fuzzy slipper socks. My floors are spotless...unlike the rest of the house.

1.  I am absolutely positive my pants no longer fit, but I am also too afraid to try them on. This is all I have to say about that.

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Five for FRIDAY!! December style

Holy cow, is it Christmas break yet? Seriously, this week was rough. I was at school at 7:00 in the morning twice this week, and I left school after 6:00 twice this week.  I made two trips to Wal-Mart, baked (and ate) about twenty five cookies, and made two dozen burritos.

On Friday, we had our giant Christmas program. It's an incredible show. We didn't get out until about 8:30. So naturally, on Saturday morning I was very excited to wake up early to help out at our area Grit Conference. I wasn't alone. After the conference ended at 12:30, I raced home to make cookies for our campus cookie exchange! I made butterscotch & white chocolate chip cookies...they were like candy.  Get the recipe on Google Drive!

   

 I decided to buy all the felt at Wal-Mart and make a felt Christmas tree with ornaments for my niece. My husband keeps walking into the den, looking at the piles of crafting crap all over the table, and turning right back around to watch TV in the bedroom.

 But I don't care! Because this tree is cute and she's going to love it!

Another project I worked on was our Poet-tree! We actually have three: a K-2 tree in English, a K-2 tree in Spanish, and a 3-5 tree in English. Each ornament has a poem printed on it and I decorated them with glitter paint. Our librarian tied on a ribbon and we hang them on our tree! When students visit the library, they can choose an ornament to keep.

And then I made two dozen burritos. At our school, the last twelve days before winter break, we have the 12 Days of Christmas. Each grade level/group is assigned a day. We were the 8th day. We decided to make burritos. This was my idea. At the time, I thought, "Oh, burritos will be a nice change from sweets," which is what most groups bring on their day. But then, the night before I realized that I would have to make 24 burritos... in the morning... before I went to work. I had to get up at 5:30. 5:30, people! I. Do. Not. Get. Up. Before. Six.

But I did. I set my alarm, and I woke up. I dragged myself into an upright position. I sat there for a minute, but then I was afraid I'd fall asleep sitting up. So I pulled myself out of bed and got myself ready. I remember thinking, "This was a stupid idea," but I quickly reminded myself that it was MY stupid idea.

Then I mixed up about 40 eggs and poured them into a pan with butter. I reheated the potatoes I'd cooked the night before, and warmed tortillas. I rolled and rolled and rolled. Until I had 24 burritos. I stuffed them into a tray and raced to work. In all, we'd made 100 burritos for our faculty.

This is my favorite. We hosted a Disguise a Gingerbread Man contest in the library. Students could swing by and pick up a cardstock gingerbread man to decorate, to help him escape. It had to be from a book.

We had a ton of submissions, and some of them were so clever and creative!

Hulk Hogan - something tells me this wasn't a book.

Pancho Villa

Chewbacca

Ruby the Reindeer

Arthur

These entries were from our teachers! The Abominable Snowman, Lily (from Lily's Purple Plastic Purse) and Skippyjon Jones! Are they precious or what?

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Space Science: Notebooks, Flipbooks, & Writing Extensions

Earlier today, I was sitting at a coffee house, working on my laptop. My brother called and said, "Hey, what are you doing?" I said, "I'm working at a restaurant." 

He said, "Oh, the Starving Teachers Catering Company?"

Ha. Ha. 

No.

I corrected myself. "I am at a restaurant, working on my laptop." 

"Sure you are. Do you need me to let you go so you can bus tables?" 

Everybody's a comedian. Anyway...

I love notebooks. Each year, my kids had a notebook for science, social studies, math, reading, and writing. And language conventions. And their home-school writing-reading connection. Yipes. That was a lot!

For our solar system unit, we used our notebooks a lot. There are fewer hands-on activities to do with the solar system than there are with physical science, so we relied heavily on diagrams, flipbooks and writing to understand the complex scientific ideas.

To get started, I thought it was very important for students to understand Earth's movement in space. Earth moves in more than one way around the sun.  It rotates on its axis, and it also revolves (or orbits) the sun. To make the distinction between those two words, we did a little acting out (kids think it's hilarious to watch you try to rotate on your axis while orbiting a student) and then we made this little folded flipbook.

 

(This is in the freebie below)

 

On the front, students recorded the two ways Earth moves, and they drew a labeled diagram. (I always required labels. If not, it looks like some sort of insect is flying around a sunflower. And that's not exactly scientific.)

On the left side, under "rotates", students explained the way the Earth rotated on its axis.  This included what an axis was, how the Earth was tilted, and how long it took to make one rotation (one day).

 

 

On the right side, students wrote about the Earth's revolution around the sun. They explained the orbit and how long it takes for the Earth to make one revolution - one year.

 

 

Once kids understood that basic information, we were ready to move on to the big stuff. Our next entry is about how seasons happen, or THE REASON FOR THE SEASONS! 

I loved using interactive notebooks with my kids. It took me a little while to get used to planning my lessons this way, but once you understand that the right side=input= information, and the left side=output=kids' processing, applying, manipulating, remembering, learning the information, it was pretty easy.

On the right side, we read a bit about the Earth's movement in space from our textbook and sketched a diagram of the Earth and sun to show how the title of the Earth is responsible for the seasons. The kids labeled the diagram with the first day of each season to show the relative position of the Earth to the sun at that time.

Then we watched a BrainPop. Of course, because I basically watched every BrainPop relative to the science we were learning. My kids LOVED BrainPop.

After that, we made a little folded flapbook by folding the outside edges into the inside. We added the names of each season and the kids sketched the sun in the middle and the Earth orbiting the sun, tilted on its axis.

To have kids use the information they had learned from the textbook and the BrainPop, I'd made little tiny cards with different characteristics of each season. The kids sorted the characteristics into each season and glued them in.

It was a great little assessment and gave kids a chance to talk to their teams as well to discuss the correct sorting of the cards.
 

As I was planning our learning about the planets, I realized there was tons of information and the kids weren't going to get much out of simply filling out a form, or a cloze activity, or watching a million videos without any opportunity to do anything with the information.

So, in response to that problem, I created my favorite science writing activity EVER. 

It's my "I Am the Solar System" book, and it's part of my new product, too.

The kids liked it, too. It appelaed to the writers and the illustrators in my class, as well as my science nerds (who loved Bill Nye as much as me.) I made them about a million circle-shaped pages with lines. One page was the cover, and the other 11 pages were the following space objects, in this order:

The Sun

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Earth's Moon

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Pluto (so they had to explain the whole not-a-planet thing, which was all the rage at the time)

On each page, they wrote an "I Am" poem. They used this poem to include the important information we'd learned about that planet, sun, or moon. At the bottom of each page was a reference to the next space object to come in the book. It sounded like, "But I'm not made of layers of rock, because Mercury is" and then Mercury was the next page.

The kids illustrated the edges of each circle to look like that planet or object. In the case of the sun, Uranus, Saturn, etc., where there are parts jutting out into space, they illustrated those first and then cut around them so they'd be part of the book. It looked pretty cool when it was all assembled. 

I can't tell you how sad I am that I have no pictures of my kids' actual books from this project. Instead, I had to recreate a sad version (because my kids were always SO much more incredibly creative than I am).

I spent a nice chunk of time this summer looking back through my kids' science notebooks from my last year in fourth grade. Do you ever have those moments where you look back at your stuff and think, "Man, that was awesome!"? Well, that's what happened to me. And I thought, "Seriously, this needs to be TPT-ized."So I did! I took these activities and many others that I used (plus a few new ideas) and complied them into a new product!

You can get the 2-fold flipbook for free, and you can grab the whole pack from TPT, too!

  Freebie! Earth's Movement in Space 2-Fold Flipbook!   

 

  Grab the whole pack at TPT!    Pin It