School Cinquains

Believe it or not parts of speech is a hard concept to teach to little ones. It's hard for them to categorize words as nouns, adjectives and verbs. As a culminating activity we wrote cinquain poems.

Our versions have 2 adjectives, 3 verbs, a short phrase and then another word for school (which I really didn't think through-that was challenging for them. I did like that so many students wrote that school was "fun".

Great End of School Year Read Alouds

The end of the school year is always bittersweet. We have had 9 months together. We know each other well. I love these kiddos but it's time for them to move on and grow.

One of my many goals for my students is to help them develop a passion for reading. I take great care to choose stories that I know will accomplish this goal. These are some books I found that have a message of being brave and working toward your dreams.

Like all the "What Do You Do" books, this personifies a problem. What do you do if you find an obstacle in your path. Great discussion starter.

A beautiful story about what happens when we make mistakes.

Great advice from parents to their child-there is only one you.

My students and I talk a lot about what it means to be brave. That's one of the traits I try to instill in my students. It was great to circle back to that in our last few weeks.

We had a whole discussion about what goals they had and how they met those goals this year. Hard work can help you reach your dreams.

Suki the dog is scared to go into the water. Until her beloved monkey gets sucked into a wave-then without thinking she jumps in-even though There Might Be Lobsters.

Little Tree wants to hold on to her leaves as the seasons change, but that holds her back from growing like the other trees. We made the connection between my students not wanting to leave Kindergarten, but they have to grow and move on to 1st Grade.

One of my favorite authors. She writes this story of advice good for all children, but particularly pointed toward girls.

Clumsy title I know, but a story that illustrates how sometimes you have to be brave and take a leap of faith. You may fall, but you may fly.

My favorite book for this time of year. "I wish you more umbrellas than rain, more ups than down". 

Asking for Feedback

I am always open to suggestions for how I can improve my practice-however, sometimes it's hard to ask for those suggestions because you know there are some unhappy with their experience. And that's hard to hear. Especially for someone like me-teaching is not just a job for me, it's my life! If you tell me I'm not doing a good job, that will just deflate me.

Parents have been unhappy with my performance over the years, as have administrators and even students. I think one of the hardest things about our job as teachers is trying to do lessons that will make everyone happy.

I ask my students for feedback throughout the year. I ask them what does Miss Trayers like? (if they answer with a student's name that makes me rethink my classroom community activities). I ask what Miss Trayers does not like? (again if they say a student's name here, that crushes me). I ask them for suggestions of what they want to see more of in class, less of. We do this activity mid-year and I retool what I am doing based on their suggestions. I also ask them this time of year to reflect and grow for next year's group.

This year, I also sent a survey to parents mid-year. I usually do one online, however I never got many responses. So I sent one home one paper this year. There was a cover sheet with my name on it so the parents could turn them in anonymously to the office. I got a much better amount of responses doing it this way. The important part is then to take their comments and tweak our practice to make it better. 

In the past I have also asked administrators for their feedback. We have an evaluation process, but I am getting feedback from one assessor. I like to hear what suggestions the other admins have to better my practice.

It's hard to ask for criticism, but I think it's important to reflect on not only how we feel about the year but how others we affected by that experience as well.

ABC's of Retirement

My beloved principal is retiring this year and we wanted to make something to help suggest some activities he can do in retirement. I wrote the alphabet on the board and we came up with a verb for each letter. The students illustrated our principal doing these things and we bound them together in a book we titles: The ABC's of Retirement. Here are a few of their suggestions:

Inspiration: Our Last Class Book

I really try to teach my students about many people throughout the year who were brave, who were interesting, who changed the world. We read stories about them, watch videos about them.

For our last class book of the year, I asked them to write about someone they learned about this year who inspires them. Who makes them what to be a better person, who do they want to grow up and be like. Here are their responses:

This is my animal loving student-she has a particularly big part of her heart that cares for pigs. So of course, she wrote about Charlotte from Charlotte's Web.

My class may not be where the 1st Grade teachers would like them to be academically, but I LOVE to see the progress they have made not only in their writing but also in their creativity. Every one of them came up with a different answer.

Advice for Graduates

It's that time of year! Graduations from high school and college. My students and I watched clips from commencement ceremonies. I found this collection and I think they make some pretty good points. Jeff Bezos says it may be harder to be kind than to be clever but to be kind. J.K. Rowling is funny and endearing in her speech and Michelle Obama-well, she's always inspiring.

http://www.inspiremykids.com/2014/inspiring-graduation-speeches-every-young-person-watch/

So I asked my students what advice they would give to graduates as they go out into the world. Here's what they came up with:

I wish someone had given me this advice! :)