APTT & The *@!%$ Shutdown

Hey, y'all!  I hope you're as jazzed as I am that fall has finally come.  Here in DC today was the first cool, rainy fall day.  It really made me want to drink tea and spend the day curled on the couch ready.  That's pretty mutually exclusive with actual teaching, though.  =)

I wanted to share a few ideas with you, and promise you that I'm still chugging way on items for my TpT store.  The first thing I wanted to tell you about is APTT.  Say whaaat?!  APTT stands for Academic Parent Teacher Teams, and it's a really data driven version of parent teacher conferences.  (You can read an interview with the creator of this model here.  It's less lame than I just made it sound.)  It was created to be more meaningful in schools with high populations of low(er) income families to share data in a meaningful way, despite the education level of the parents involved.  If we're being 100% honest the first year I did APTT I HATED it.  (In retrospect, I think that's because I was putting a TON of time into the conferences, but not getting the return back.)  However, I'm now in my third year of using this conference model, and I absolutely L-O-V-E it.  Now, I want to be honest with you, it's the same amount of work as it was the first year, but now I'm working with other teachers to put on the meeting, so it's divided among a team, AND the turn out is so much better.  Let me tell you a few reasons I love APTT.  First, it only focuses on academic data.  (I know what you're thinking, but honestly, I find conferences to be so much more positive when we don't discuss behavior.) The basic gist of APTT is that as a teacher, you select one long term goal for the year in reading and one in math and then basically you measure each student's progress toward that goal every 60 days throughout the year.  The other thing that I really like about APTT is that these are group conferences and we share all the kids' data, with all the parents, but we share the data anonymously.  It's really powerful, because it give parents a clear idea of a) exactly where their kids are, b) where all the other kids in the class/grade are performing, and c) what the current expectation is, and if their child is above or below it.  One last thing--APTT was originally created to share data with parents in lower income schools/districts, but I don't think that's the only environment in which this model would be successful.  That's basically the quick and dirty version of APTT.  If you have any questions I'm happy to answer them.

In other news I have to take about 45 seconds of your time to rage about this stupid federal shutdown.  It's so crazy; I mean, really I can't even talk about it.  I mean, it's so ridiculous that yesterday our principal had to send an email out that we can't order any more supplies/materials until the shutdown ends/budget is passed, so we all have ONE PACK of copy paper until whenever it is that the shutdown ends. Whether that's 2 days or 2 weeks.  Also, after next Friday schools will (likely) have to shut down because DC's rainy day fund will be dry and there won't be money to run the physical buildings.  The whole thing is such a mess.  Not to mention that federal employees (like the hubs) aren't getting paid at all right now.  Okay.  I have to move on.

Last, I'm hoping to glean some knowledge from y'all.  So I have a group of about 7 boys this year who are really struggling to get on the classroom community train.  They're just garnering a lot of negative attention, and slowing down the learning of the entire class.  Two of them are currently on a behavior plan that, honestly, seems at times to be extremely helpful and at times a huge time suck.  I think I'm going to launch table points on Tuesday, but does anyone else have (relatively easy) any ideas to help them settle/simmer and successfully participate in the class?

That's it.  Thanks so much for sticking with me!

Teacher Tips

Two blog posts in under 12 hours?!  I know, I know.  However, if we're being totally honest this less represents my extreme commitment to Teacher Week and the fact that in preparation for PD next week I refused to allow myself to get back into bed after the hubs left for work.  I even made the bed so I wouldn't get into it!  But no one will be at school to let me in until 8:00am.  Which means that I have about an hour and a half to fill.  So you're getting a bonus blog post!  Once again, I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week for their last day--teacher tips and tricks.  

Now, if we're being totally honest, I don't really consider myself a really tricky teacher, but I suppose I have learned a few things over the years.  I'm coming at you today with a really cool trick I learned last year from another teacher--data folders.  Previously, I blogged about my school's partnership with the Flamboyan Foundation in DC.  (You can check it out here if you missed it.)  Flamboyan has really been working with us on how to engage parents AND how to meaningfully share data with them. 

Last year, I went to a workshop after school hosted by Flamboyan about sharing data with parents and left with a ton of really great ideas.  The one that I liked the best and put into practice in my classroom almost immediately is data folders.  Here's the basic rundown:  You decide one day each week that these data folders will go home.  (I would not recommend Fridays because you really want them back the next day.)  I always do mine on the one day that we don't have a special because that gives us a little more time in class to get the folders ready.  So basically, you're selecting 2 goals that you're monitoring on a weekly basis and you're sending the data home to families each week, giving them information on how their students are progressing.  This is a little different from just sending home weekly assessment scores because you're really trying to track growth over time with these folders, so you're trying to assess the same skill (or group of skills) every week.  For example, last year I tracked my students' fact fluency scores because we took a fluency test each Friday and I also tracked their Fundations check-ups.  (I would give them a quick check-up, even if it wasn't in the plan for that week.)  Then, I can either grade them during a planning period or over the weekend and sort all the tests by kid so that they're reading to the put in the folder.  

There are 3 other really important pieces to the data folder that really bring this picture home to parents.  The first is the graphs.  You make a graph for math data, and ELA data.  You add in the benchmark line (where you want the kids to be; this is almost always 80% in my class) and then you have kids color in the graph to show their score.  This makes it really easy for parents to see where their students are, in relation to where we want them to be.  The second piece is the signature tracker.  Here, you're going to make a sheet with 3 columns.  One will be the date for each week when you send the folders home, the next will be a box for a parent to sign that they went through the folder, and last (and super important) is a comment box.  Parents MUST make a comment on the data.  They can really write anything in here that shows that they went through the folder.  I usually put a few suggestions at the top, like "So proud!" or "Way to go!" or "We need to practice short vowel sounds".  You just want to see by reading the comment that they went through the folder and looked at the data.  And the last piece (and the reason that I always do this on my no-special day) is that you have each kid fill out a form letter to their parents about their data for the week.  It's nothing fancy, just a little "Dear Mom/Dad/Grandma, I am feeling ____________________ about my tests this week.  Next week I want to ___________ (do better, do as well, study more, etc.) so that I can ________________ (get a treat, be smarter, know more math facts, etc.).  Love, ___________".  This whole process definitely takes some time to get rolling, but after the first few weeks this goes much more smoothly.  

Here's why I love the data folder:  you're sending home consistent information every week, so parents can't act surprised/won't be surprised when report cards come home.  I also love it because you can send extra information, like a note about increasing reading levels, but at the baseline they're getting weekly updates about the progressing their child is making in school in a really clear and easy to read format.  

Now, I've heard that there's a giant sale on everyone's favorite website this weekend, so I'm going to try really hard to have all the forms for this data folder up in time for this sale.  I wouldn't look for them before lunch time tomorrow, but that's the goal.  Have a great Friday!

Taming the Wild

Okay, y'all, I'm attempting my first link-up here, so in anticipation I request your patience.  =)  I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin for their Teacher Week soiree.

Today's theme is all about taming the wild.  Or classroom management.  Now, I want to be 100% real with you--if I did not have an excellent classroom management system I wouldn't even make it through the first day.  I absolutely LOVE my school, but it can definitely be a little rough around the edges at times.  So every summer I spend a fair amount of time thinking about how I will manage the behavior of my incoming little love nuggets.

The first 2 years I taught I did more a token economy system, where kids were earning classroom dollars and then cashing them in for prizes worth different amounts.  I liked it, and it was okay, but the first year I was in first grade I really didn't love it.  So I figured why stick with something I don't love.  Last year I tried something brand new--well, not really brand new, but brand new to me.  The clip chart.  Y'all.  I canNOT tell you how much I LOVE a good clip chart.  And if we're being totally honest, I was a big time clip chart doubter.  I thought there was no way it would ever work, and it was such a crazy idea, and it would never manage the behavior in my classroom.  But seriously.  I. LOVE. IT.  It's one of the best classroom decisions I've ever made.  (If the idea of a clip chart is new to you, you can read about it here.  Or you can just google "clip chart" and do your own research.)

Here's why I love the clip chart:  it moves the responsibility of tracking behavior from me to my kids.  (This is also why I love the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today?)  The basic tenet is that good/positive actions clip you up, and negative actions clip you down.  I definitely add extra incentives into my clip chart, like class-wide bonuses if no one has their clip below the morning starting point--Ready to Learn.  I also clip my kids "off the chart" if they're having a great day.  "Off the chart" means that you were on the top chunk of the chart, and you were asked to clip up again.  Those students get their clips, give them to me, and I wear them on my lanyard for the rest of the day.  If students continue to clip up even after they are off the chart they get stars on their clip and when their clip is full of stars I paint it after school.  It starts red, and they can move through every color of the rainbow until they get the coveted (and extremely rare) rainbow glitter clip.  The first time someone gets a red clip it's a huge deal!  They all marvel about it when they come in and see it on the clip chart in the morning.  It's generally a pretty adorable moment.

In addition to the clip chart, I use LOTS of really specific positive praise for small groups, whole group, and individual students.  I always joke with the hubs that he probably hates the first 6 weeks of school because I come home and give him the same type of praise that I give my students--"Wow, honey.  It was so helpful of you to empty the dishwasher.  I really appreciate that you did that and now I don't have to."  Oops.  We also start a compliment chain every year to help with hallway/out of the classroom behavior.  The way the compliment chain works is that every time another adult in the building gives the class a compliment we get to add a link to the chain.  When the chain touches the floor we get to have a compliment party.  The compliment party is a HUGE deal.  You can really make it whatever you want; last year, I asked my kids what they wanted and they wanted to paint, have a dance party, make posters to hang in the hallway so other kids could get compliments, too, and have milk and cookies with the principal and AP.  Are you kidding?!  Done and done.

Just as I have really specific procedures in place for praising positive behavior, I also am very clear with my students about potential negative consequences that could arise from their choices.  I always tell my students that I can only give them good ideas; they will ultimately make their own decisions.  You're the boss of you, if what I tell them all the time.  And frequently what I ask them when we're having a conversation and they say that someone else told them to do something.  As soon as they say that I always say "who's the boss of you?"  The first consequence, obviously, is for students to clip down.  If they've already clipped down and they're still acting out then I'll ask them to sit in our naughty seat.  This is a seat that's generally away from the rest of the class.  They're usually going to be there 6-8 minutes.  After that, I'm either going to have a quick conversation with them and invite them back to class, or if they're still being disruptive I'm going to ask them to either take a few books or their work with them and go to another classroom, again for probably 6-10 minutes.

I blogged earlier this week about Responsive Classroom, and one aspect of RC is logical consequences.  Basically, logical consequences means that you're matching the consequence to the action.  So if a kid colors on the table you're going to have them clean up the table, not miss recess.  I do like the idea of logical consequences, but I'll be honest:  it's one of the RC structures that I have the hardest time with because I feel like sometimes there isn't necessarily a logical consequence.

I hope I haven't bored y'all to tears.  If you're still with me I'll end with this:  I think the bottom line of any classroom management system is creating a community where students know that you value them and you'll listen to them.  If kids know you care they'll do almost anything for you.