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Your One Thing – Lessons from City Slickers

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I love the movie City Slickers.   Three middle-aged men, feeling unsatisfied with their life circumstances, decide to go on a cattle-drive themed vacation.  In one scene, Billy Crystal’s character, Mitch, finds himself alone with the crusty old lead cattleman, Curly (Jack Palance.)  Trying to bestow some life advice, Curly initiates the following conversation:

Curly:  Do you know what the secret of life is?  (He then holds up one finger.)

Mitch:  Your finger?

Curly:  One thing.  Just one thing.  You stick to that and the rest doesn’t matter.

Mitch:  But what is the “one thing?”

Curly:  That’s what you have to find out.

I’ve been thinking about this movie the last few days as I’ve been preparing to have a student teacher during second semester.  Her supervising college follows a collaborative teaching model, so we will be sharing the classroom for the next 16 weeks.  Sitting down to plan our first week together, I began to compose a “Things She Needs to Know” list.  As the list grew, the need to prioritize became apparent. What was the one thing that would help her have a successful experience?

After reflecting, I’ve decided that I need to have two classroom“one things”- one for our classroom community and one for academics.  The first “thing” is being kind – me reflecting kindness to my students, students showing kindness to me, and students demonstrating kindness to one another.  Many other positive traits fall under the umbrella of being kind – respect, responsibility, compassion, and empathy. 

What is the “one thing” for our classroom academically?  It would need to be providing time for purposeful practice.  As human beings, we enjoy activities when we are given the skills and time to learn to do these activities well.  Time to purposefully and safely practice skills and concepts is a gift I strive to give my students daily.

I’m curious to learn how my 4th graders will respond to the “One Thing” question.  I will divide the question into three parts – what is your one thing for a classroom, what is your one thing for learning, and what is your one thing at home?  I’ll be sharing their responses with you. We would love to learn your response to Curly’s question about the secret of life (or teaching!)

Happy Writing!

Retelling and Summarizing

An essential routine in my classroom is Morning Meeting.  While we vary the activities during this time, every Monday we take the time to share one interesting thing that happened over the weekend.  As there are 31 people wanting to share, the sharing is limited to 1-2 sentences about the topic.  We each share the main idea of what happened and know we can add in the details during free time at lunch or recess. Limiting the weekend highlights to just two sentences is very difficult for some students.  It’s amazing how much information they believe they can put into a single sentence!

During the past two weeks, we have been practicing writing summaries.  We began our learning by reminding ourselves of the difference between a retell and a summary.  During a retell, the writer includes all the information from the text.  When summarizing, the writer identifies and explains the main ideas of a text.   As we were comparing the two, a little girl who struggles with our Monday Morning Meeting suddenly burst out, “That’s it!  I’m really more of a retell girl than a summarizing girl!”  She had made a connection!

Summarizing non-fiction is an important skill.  The key to a good summary is two-fold – first find the main ideas of each paragraph and put them in a plan, then write a strong and focused topic sentence.  We use the acronym SAAC to help remember the elements of a summary topic sentence.  The S stands for State It – name the type of text to be summarized and the title of the passage.  The first A stands for Assign – in the case of non-fiction we use the word author.  The second A stands for Action – state the action of the author. What was the author’s purpose for writing this article?  Finally, the C stands for Complete the Sentence.  Finish the sentence by listing the main ideas we found from each paragraph.  As we practiced our SAAC sentences, a student started humming the YMCA song.  We were soon all up, making the motions for SAAC. 

Using our writing plan and a SAAC topic sentence has helped my students become strong summary writers.  Although they still may prefer to retell their weekend, they can now easily summarize a passage!

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Measured in Miles . . .

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Living in Colorado, we love spending time outdoors.  Ever since our children were young, we have spent time each summer camping with friends.  My husband recently received this card – what a perfect sentiment to celebrate his birthday. The caption -  A journey should not be measured in miles, but in adventures shared and friends gained -   summed up years of traveling and camping experiences.

This card also serves as a metaphor for our experience as teachers today.  As state tests continue to grow in importance, our effectiveness as teachers and our students’ learning journey is measured by standardized test scores.  While this is the reality of our profession and we all sincerely desire for our students to be successful, learning can be oh so much more.

The writing classroom should be one where sharing ideas is seen as an adventure!  Talking and sharing is an essential part of the writing process.  Students learn best from each other, from listening to one another’s ideas and from purposefully listening to feedback on their own writing.  It is so exciting to see students celebrate when someone is able to find just the right word to express their thought, or to hear the collective “ooh” when a student uses a particularly effective phrase.

As educators, we must honor the writing process as a whole.  The writing journey consists of many small steps, from brainstorming initial ideas to selecting the best font when publishing a writing piece.  We must honor each stop in this journey.  Provide students feedback on thoughtfully collected ideas or a well-developed plan!  Be sure to highlight an exceptional choice of words or well-placed figurative language in a paragraph. Celebrate the student who completes his first paragraph in which every capital letter and punctuation mark is included.  Continue to encourage students to share each other’s writing, give and receive constructive criticism, and experiment with new ideas and language.  Help students see learning as an adventure that is taken with friends and work to create a classroom that honors that belief.  As we live out this philosophy in our classrooms, we will create students who recognize learning is an adventure shared with others. 

“We live in a web of ideas, a fabric of our own making.” - Joseph Chilton Pearce

“We live in a web of ideas, a fabric of our own making.” - Joseph Chilton Pearce

Along with teaching writing, Darlene and I share another similar passion – quilting. Writing and quilting are more similar than they might first appear.  Both begin with the end project in mind – whether it be a table runner or a paragraph.  Writing and quilting are made up of many smaller pieces which must be put in just the right place.

Do what you love – Love what you do — Life Is Good Motto

Do what you love – Love what you do — Life Is Good Motto

While waiting for a flight last weekend, I spent time in the airport Life is Good store.  I must confess – I really love their merchandise.  The shelves were packed with t-shirts, sweatshirts and coffee mugs depicting icons of recreational activities and the phrase “Life is Good.”  I was tempted to purchase the sweatshirt depicting a travel trailer, a bicycle and a kayak, three of my favorite things.

Flying home, I was remembering this store.  Every t-shirt graphic displayed a picture of some type of hobby – from fishing to enjoying a cup of coffee.  Not a single picture had anything to do with work.  There were no graphics of computer screens, classrooms, meeting rooms, or spreadsheets.  While I understand the purpose of the company, it has made me think about the atmosphere of our classrooms.  Do we approach learning with a “Do what you love – love what you do” attitude?

Fall Colors and New Challenges

Fall Colors and New Challenges

The fall colors in Colorado are spectacular! I spent the weekend hiking high in the Rockies, enjoying spectacular views in every direction. The weekend was especially enjoyable as a little over two years ago a leg injury kept me from hiking. It was wonderful to be back in the Colorado mountains.

Hiking for me now comes with some “new normals.” I carefully check out the trails prior to choosing one, making sure that the path is neither too steep nor covered with slippery gravel. I keep my eyes focused on the trail, carefully watching for any unexpected rocks or tree stumps which might cause a tumble. Walking sticks are an essential part of my hiking routine, as they provide stability and extra balance. Finally, I stop and survey the scenery more than ever before. I celebrate both my surroundings and my progress.

Meeting Our Students' Needs

Meeting Our Students' Needs

Our students come in all shapes, sizes and abilities.  As teachers, we are constantly searching for ways to meet each of their educational needs. Sometimes we have a well thought out plan, while at other times meeting our students’ needs happens spontaneously. The latter happened in one of the classes that I spend time co-teaching reading and writing skills to 4th graders. We had been teaching our students how to find evidence in text to help support their answers. We first spent time just learning how to find evidence in the text before we had our students start answering questions. We then modeled and practiced writing a “Shining Star Answer” using the proof from the text. One of our struggling students needed additional work on putting these two skills together. 

The Unplanned Teachable Moments

The Unplanned Teachable Moments

Many of us are asked to use curriculum maps to help us plan our instruction. While these maps are useful and at times essential, we must also remember to watch for those teachable moments which bring learning alive to our students.

During the first weeks of school, we were reading aloud the novel Fish In A Tree,  by Linda Mulhally Hunt. Ally, the main character, is told she is “crossing the line,” and realizes her teacher is not discussing the finish line of a race. As we talked about this idiom, one student commented that his mom tells him he is “on thin ice” when he is in trouble. Another girl piped up that her parents tell her she is “in hot water.” A lively debate started over the use of water in both idioms – one water freezing and the other heated!

Data Information and Heart Knowledge

Data Information and Heart Knowledge

“Is it worth the time it takes?” 

My teammates and I have vowed to start each planning meeting asking that question. As we look at all the standards we have to teach, the assessments we’re asked to give, and the learning engagements we want to share, we quickly run out of hours in the school day. The question was central in our discussion on whether or not to give a writing assessment to our fourth graders the first week of school.

After much thought, I chose to ask my students to write to the prompt,

“In your opinion, what would be the best job to have as an adult?” Explain the reasons for your choice of career.

Starting the Year – “Well begun is half done.”

Starting the Year – “Well begun is half done.”

Last spring, our school district decided to do away with parents and students purchasing the necessary school supplies. Instead, the district would charge parents a supply fee and the supplies would be ordered by and delivered to the school. Three days before our annual “Meet the Teacher” night, my classroom was filled with boxes of paper, notebooks, crayons, pencils, and miscellaneous supplies needed to start the year.