Whole Group Instruction

Hey there!  Let me just say, if you've ever done any home renovations - BLESS. YOUR. HEART.  The last couple of weeks we have had new Pergo floors, new carpet, and new kitchen cabinets.  In August we'll add the tile and the granite counter tops.  I had NO idea how exhausting it would be to have your house completely torn apart!

I'm jumping in a little late in the game, but I found an awesome Linky party to join up with this summer!  The Appleicious Teacher is hosting a linky every week about sharing different parts of your classroom.

This week's focus is whole group instruction.  

Let's face it.  This is the most common time you'll see in classrooms around the globe.  While recent studies, research, and the swing of the pendulum have put more focus on small group instruction, whole group is where it's at.  There's hardly any avoiding it.  I know when I walk through our halls, this is what I see 90% of the time.  Old school whole group is kids sitting at their desks in rows while copying things from the board or completing a worksheet or workbook page.  It's so easy to spice up your whole group time and get the students actively engaged.  This can be such a fun time for them!  It brings your class together as a little community of human beings that are delving into information together, picking each other's brains, and offering up what they already know.

Fortunately, I have pictures of a typical whole-group reading lesson.  These were from an insect unit we did toward the end of the school year.  

The first thing we do is formulate a schema chart together.  I usually draw something up in advance on butcher paper and hang it on the board.  It stays up all week, or longer if needed.  I give the students sticky notes and they write what they already know about the topic at hand.  I usually limit them, only because they see what their neighbor writes and they think, "Oh, I know that, too!"  Or they keep thinking of E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.  I usually tell them to write their best 2 or 3 facts.  Then they go up and put them on the schema chart.

Then we go through and share what we already know.  After that, we head to the carpet and I typically read some sort of read-aloud to them about our unit that week.  I always try to get a good mix of fiction and non-fiction in our read-aloud time.  We also do whole-group mini-lessons on our Promethean board.  This is usually focused around phonics.  This is the new carpet we got through Donor's Choose!

I try to do a fun craft or activity at least once a week.  I wish I had MORE time to do things like this, but you know how it goes.  ;)  This was an activity from Deanna Jump's Insect Unit.  I put a picture of a basic insect on the board and we went through and labeled the different parts.  Their job was to use fun snacks to make their own bug!  They turned out SO cute!

We also did Deanna's cute glyph activity.

This next activity was honestly a quick, spur of the moment idea.  I had such a creative class this past year and I knew that this would be something they would enjoy.  I quickly had them pair up and took one person from each group down to get butcher paper.  Their job was to create their own insect.  They had to choose a name for it and write something about it.  Then they shared them with the class.  I love being able to pair them up for a quick activity like this!

That's about how my whole group looks like during the week.  Mondays are usually jam-packed with background building, Tuesdays are background and learning new reading skills, Wednesdays are reading the story together (we sit on the perimeter of the carpet and read together), and Thursdays are a review with more games and activities.  I love seeing what they can do together!

One thing I am SO excited about adding next year is a document camera that we received through Donor's Choose!  I can't WAIT for it to come in!  :)

So there we have it.  The basic gist of whole group instruction in my classroom.

Next week I'll be back to talk about small group instruction!  Have a fabulous week!!!!

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June Currently and Planbook!

It's almost 12:30 a.m. and I'm sitting here with the windows open, trying to finish my case study for my reading endorsement course.  I need a break from typing heavy-duty teaching jargon.  ;)

First of all, here's my June Currently, sponsored by Oh' Boy 4th Grade!

Oh my goodness...during interviews last week, one of our candidates shared this awesome website with us!  Next year we have to submit all our plans to our principal.  Electronically.  It's part of our new evaluation system in the State of Ohio.  We have been tossing around all these ideas.  Google Docs (uggg).  Dropbox.  E-mail.  But none of them seemed perfect.  They all had their pros and cons, but none were super-easy.  Then...enter...

WWW.PLANBOOK.COM!  Now, some of you may be saying, seriously?  I've heard of that and it's nothing new.  I'm jealous of you.  I wish I had heard about this a long time ago!  But since I'm just now learning about it, I'm sure there are people out there who haven't heard of it yet.  SO...what's so cool about it?

Here's a screenshot of some of my plans for August (don't shoot me...I just wanted to play around and figured I might as well make it worth my time).  ;)

First of all, it's FREE.  Who doesn't love free?  Once you create a username and password, it's easy to get started.  You create your classes and put in the times.  That's what shows up in the colored bars above.  And if you like to color-code things like me, you'll love the fact that you get to pick your colors for everything!  So for example, red is Morning Work, orange is Grammar, yellow is Specials, green is Math, and blue is Lunch/Recess.  That's only half my day, so it's a work in progress.  Then you go through and click on the day/subject and start typing!  You can easily insert Common Core standards by the click of a button.  They're already listed, you just have to click on the ones you want and it inserts them.  It's so easy to copy and paste from one day to the next.

One of my FAVORITE features is the fact that you can move lessons if you need to!  For example, let's say we had an assembly that we totally forgot about.  I couldn't get to my math lesson that day.  All I have to do is click "Bump" and it moves the lesson to the next day.  I can keep clicking "Bump" if I need to.  You can easily rearrange your schedule with the click of a button.  Let's say you have a fire drill and don't get to half of your grammar lesson.  You can hit "Extend" and it sends it into the next day, while keeping it on your current day.  It's SO easy to adjust your plans if you need to!

And if you're too sick or have an emergency and can't go in to type up plans, you can do it from home. It's easy to share your plans with others in your building.  I could share them with a team member and they can print them off for the sub the next day.  Super easy!

They are not all cutesy like my old plans used to be, but they're a lot more thorough because I have the space without sacrificing messing up all my margins and spaces.  They're also MUCH easier, in my opinion.  And I'm thrilled that I can share them so easily!

Have I convinced you yet?  I only played around with it for about an hour and this is what I have found.  I'm sure I'm just skimming the surface!  You should definitely check it out.  I think you'll love it!  :)  Happy planning!

www.planbook.com

Want to Ace a Teaching Interview?

I just spent 9 hours helping to interview people for 3 open spots in our building next year.  9 hours, 1 hour of lunch, 13 people.  I *might* be more tired than I normally am when I get home from teaching!  Maybe.  It might be the same level of exhaustion.  We were very lucky this year, because we had a GREAT selection of candidates.  It was truly hard to narrow it down.  The last time I interviewed for a job was 5 years ago.  The job market (in Ohio at least) is MUCH tougher than it was 5 years ago.  You REALLY have to impress!  One candidate we interviewed said she interviewed for a position recently and they had 1,400 applicants!  INSANITY.  We didn't have that many since we're a rural district, but we still had a LOT.

So I'm here to offer 10 tips for a great interview.  Take them or leave them, but from the perspective of an interviewer, you might find these really helpful.  And PLEASE listen when I mention some of them.

1.  Make sure to bring all required paperwork.  If the district you're interviewing asks you to bring any sort of documentation (rec. letters, transcripts, sample lesson, etc.), BRING THEM.  It's not an option.

2.  We want to see pictures of your classroom!  IF you've taught, we'd love to see pictures of your current room.  Cute, organized, messy, cluttered.  We want to see it!  It tells us a lot about you and the environment you create.

3.  Don't bring a lot of random stuff.  Yes, bring a portfolio with the necessities (pictures, transcripts, letters of rec., data, etc.).  Do not stuff it with a lot of random stuff.  While we wish we had all the time in the world to look through it, we don't.  We want to be able to quickly flip through and see what you're about.  Pick a few things you're really proud of and that highlight your strengths and leave it at that.

4.  Show us who YOU are.  We want to get to know YOU!  Not the super-peppy, overly-smiley and positive version of you.  And not the really negative, complaining, frowny version of you.  Just be real!  :)  Sometimes it can be a turnoff because we feel like we only know one side of you.  It is definitely difficult to get to know a person in 30 minutes, but we want to see the real you.  Be genuine!  :)

5.  Know your stuff.  Be prepared!  There are certain things in education you should really know about.  If that means you need to study, then study.  Coming into this field, you are expected (no matter how much experience you have) to know about collecting data, progress monitoring, RTI, letting data drive instruction, guided reading, differentiation, etc.  Those are the basics.  Make sure you're prepared to answer questions about these!

6.  Be early.  As an old theater director of mine used to say, "To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is unacceptable."  Plug in that GPS ahead of time and allow for traffic/trains/wrong turns/etc.

7.  Be confident.  I KNOW interviews can be extremely stressful.  You want to do a good job, you want to impress, and you want the job.  The more prepared you are, the more you can relax when you're sitting in front of a team of 6 people (or however many are in your interview).  It's so easy to get nervous, but practice in front of anyone you can find.  Tell them to be honest with you and take it seriously.  We feel for you and try to make you feel as comfortable as possible, but we still need to be able to see who you are through your nervousness.

8.  Prepare yourself to tell the interviewing team your weaknesses.  This is SUCH a common question and we definitely ask it.  What are your strengths and weaknesses?  For some reason, some people always struggle with weaknesses.  We all have them.  I have a bajillion.  The most common answer was, "I'm a perfectionist."  That's a great answer because it can also be seen as a positive.  However, once again, you need to stand out.  I found that 85% of our candidates gave this answer.  Think of something else.  And it's OK if it can't be twisted into a positive!  However, it's not a good idea to say things like, "I'm always late," or "I procrastinate."  Yeah.  Don't share those.  ;)

9.  SELL YOURSELF!  Remember, we are looking at a LOT of candidates.  Give us something to remember that will make you stand out from everyone else.  Some of the great things I saw today were leaving a thank-you note after the interview with the office staff, giving the interviewing team a picture/card so we could remember her face (which was VERY helpful!), and creating a video of classroom pictures that we were shown on her iPad.  All were clever and nice ideas that stood out!  We want to be blown away and not think how you blended in with all the other candidates.

10.  Remember, sometimes it's not you, it's the school.  Just like you're searching for that perfect job, we're searching for the perfect person to fit in with US.  We truly had FABULOUS interviews today.  Those ladies and gentlemen were wonderful and we were very impressed!  However, in the end it comes down to team dynamics.  Who will fit in best with the teaching teams?  Who would fit into our school family the best?  These are things that are out of your control.  If you don't get a job there, just know that it might not be a great fit for us.  There will be a place that needs YOU! :)

There are LOTS of other things, but these are some of the things that really stood out to me today as I was helping to interview potential teachers.  Remember to relax and do your best!  You'll end up where you're supposed to be, even if you don't see it yet.  :)

Happy interviewing!

A Day in the Life, End of the Year, and Big Sale!

Um, I'm totally embarrassed.  And trying to make it through life, haha.  Y'all, I have seriously been coming home at 4:30 and taking a 4 or 5 hour nap everyday.  It's ridiculous.  I was NOT this tired with my last pregnancy!  Not even close.  Plus, I think the end-of-the-year stuff is kicking my behind.  I ate lunch in my room today so I could input data and try to clear off my desk.  14 days until summer and I have never been more excited!

Ok, so I told my sweet friend, Jessica from Second Grade Nest, that I would link up with her last Friday.  I carried my camera around with me all day and people thought I was crazy.  But I LOVED her idea of doing A Day in the Life of a Teacher!

So here we go!

And there you have my typical Thursday.  :)  For 3 more weeks... :D

Last night I stayed up until 2 a.m. finishing my end-of-year pack!  It has 8 different resources to help you have a great last week of school.  I'm super-excited about it!

You can snag it at my TpT shop!

And in case you haven't heard already...TpT is celebrating teachers tomorrow and Wednesday by having a big Teacher Appreciation sale!  My whole shop will be 20% off for the next 2 days.  Add the Promo Code TAD13 when you check out and you'll get another 8% off!  Let me tell you, my cart is already full!  I can't WAIT!

Have a great week, friends!  :)  Happy shopping!