Sydney's School Stories

This is the second post of my "3 Schools in 3 Years" series. After you have (mentally / emotionally) processed that you are moving schools or classrooms it is time to get down to the process of packing. Here are my top 10 tips for packing up your room in preparation for moving. Share with your students that you are moving . I told my students that I was moving schools because I was feeling stressed and on edge- I knew I wasn't being the more "present" teacher I could be and wanted to share what was going on in my life to my 5th graders. I also want my students to know how they can contact me next school year and not be shocked when if they come to visit in the future and can't find me.  Start early. I began packing with 3 weeks left in the school year. I started by packing things that students couldn't see- such as curriculum I was done teaching or teacher books. If you start the process early you won't feel overwhelmed at the very end of the...

We recently had a 4 day weekend - there were district wide professional development days. The kids are always so excited to be back at school & see their friends. Whenever students come back from a break they need to talk to their friends. I had the students do peer interviews. I listed the questions on the smart-board and students interviewed one peer at a time. I set a timer for 5 minutes and after the "beep" students got another partner. It was great to see students sharing their experiences, goals, and laughing with a friend. Here are the questions I posed: What did you do over the 4 day weekend? What is a goal you have for the week? How can you show kindness this week? How can you show the Woodridge Big 3 today and everyday?​

Weekly Math Rotations Grouping I put students into 5 homogenous groups. I group students by using a unit's pretest scores, exit tickets or quick quizzes throughout the course of a unit, STAR tests (these are tests that predict / track end of year SBA scores), and what I notice as a teacher.  There are about 5-6 students per group. I color code student's names with their group- this makes it easier for students to look at the smart-board and know what group they are in.  This year I have more boys than girls, but I do try to have both boys and girls in each group. I put students who are quiet with students who are chatty and try to make sure that kids have someone they like in their group.   Weekly Math Rotations

Happy winter break teacher friends! I am going to talk about teacher wellness/self care today and give a few ideas of relaxing things to do for YOU this break and throughout the school year.  Self care is not selfish . I like having alone time where I’m the focus and getting pampered- it helps me chill out and feel beautiful. I love my husband, but need time for myself as well. I also feel like it is unhealthy to do school stuff all the time- papers can wait to be graded, but the relationships you have with your family and friends need to be cultivated on the weekends. Your body and soul need to be replenished so you can go to school refreshed.  Why is self care important? I believe that teacher self care is important for the soul because as teachers we spend a majority of our day taking care of 30 other little humans. As a teacher we often play other roles such as counselor, friend, mediator, and sometimes parent figure. We listen to our kids, problem solve with them...

Here are photos of my classroom this year! This is my main whiteboard. I used washi tape to divide my whiteboard into sections for my daily schedule, voice level, table points for each class, objectives, and class community news. The objectives are from  https://teachingtoinspire.com/  and the place value chart is from  https://teachingandsofourth.com/ .  At the beginning of the year my class and I made "looks like/sounds like" chart for showing respect, solving problems, making good decisions, and being a good scholar. Students get class stars every time they display one of these attributes.  The rug has seen better days lol. The rug is from Marshals and pillows from Michaels (Michaels has a free teacher discount program!!!).   https://www.michaels.com/teachers--create-for-your-classroom/article-teachers.html  This is my math board. I list may do and must do items for students to complete in math and list math resources for the...

My students have been really struggling with adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators. I did a math talk with them and realized that many students lack a foundational understanding of what a fraction means and struggle with multiplication/division facts. I have been working with students in small groups and spent over 2 weeks teaching equivalent fractions, listing out multiples, etc. I was feeling defeated most of this week- I had tried lots of different teaching strategies but none seemed to be working. As a teacher its easy to feel like you've let the kids who just can't seem to get it down- I felt especially like this and tired because of back to school nights and just getting back into the 1st month of school routine. BUT THEN... On Friday- I reached out to our ITCL and admin and we talked about different strategies we could implement to support kids who lack a basic understanding of fractions. I decided to help each student create their own fraction b...

The 2016-2017 school   year was an exciting one for me- I got married, cleared my CA credential, and survived my first year teaching! There are many things I wish I could have changed about year one and lots I learned. Here are some of my Do’s and Don’ts for making the most out of your first year in the classroom! TLDR ( too long didn’t read) Version ·       Teaching is really hard, but also really enjoyable- so celebrate the awesome work and relationships that come out of your room but also reach out and lean on others for the tough days. ·       Have fun ·       Don’t compare yourself to others ·       When your friends tell you about their fancy jobs and big paychecks celebrate with them but remember this job is important too! Do’s ·       Do ask a lot of questions ! Ask your administration or fellow teachers questions about the cultu...