secondary classrooms

What My Trip to the Magnolia Silos Taught Me About Teaching

My husband and I visited Waco to tour all things Magnolia back in June. It was an amazing trip — I love going on trips to new places because I can let my brain relax, and I feel so inspired. Magnolia was no exception – inspiration is everywhere. So, I said I can let my brain relax, but what really happens is that it just gets filled up with all kinds of new ideas at every turn because of all the awesomeness around me. Chip and Jo have truly built an empire that personifies their greeting “Welcome Home.” If you read my previous blog post where you toured my classroom, then you know my classroom theme is the journey, but it’s focused on reminding students that home is at the center. It doesn’t get much more perfect than that for inspiration. So, here’s what my trip to Magnolia taught me about teaching – and you’ll see that these are things I can do in my classroom, changes and implementations and thought processes that require nothing from admin or anyone else – just me.

Make my classroom a place where “Everyone has a seat at the table.” The first place we visited on our trip was Magnolia Table, the newly renovated restaurant. We had, of course, watched the episode where they remodeled it, and I remember Joanna discussing how she wanted it to be a place were all people could come together and enjoy great food and great company. The restaurant is beautiful, as expected, and she has a variety of seating arrangements. Above one of the larger community tables is the beautiful metal artwork sign made by Jimmy Don that reads, “Where Everyone Has a Seat at the Table.” It has a huge presence in the restaurant, and it spoke to me immediately. The students who come into my classroom are from all different families, friend groups, backgrounds, experiences, and ability levels. Because we are a very small, rural school, a lot of times we do know each other’s names at least, but when I think about a table symbolically, there’s so much more there with that idea. To me, it reminds me to get to know the students beyond that and see from their point of view, and I want them to do that for each other, too. I want to invite all voices to speak in discussion. This one is especially difficult because students are so shy or uncertain or they think what they have to say isn’t good enough. I work for weeks getting all kids to open up. Sometimes I have to just sit and wait – it’s that important. When I make worksheets, I need to represent as many different types of students as possible. Reading selections should be carefully curated so that all students have an opportunity to see themselves and see others. I want them to know that when they walk into my classroom that they – each student as an individual – has a place.

Take something that seems like it’s nothing and make it great. If you watched Chip and Jo’s show, Fixer Upper, then you know they are in the construction business to buy houses and fix them up to sell. Many of the houses they have chosen to remodel have been forgotten by the masses. Nobody has “the guts to take on a fixer upper,” so these houses with beautiful bones are just rotting to the ground. My husband and I do some work with construction and remodeling, and often times we get into some we want to run from. But, we have to step back and see the potential- it has good bones, they say. This one hits home hard when I think about the students in my classroom. From struggling learners to excelling learners to the well-behaved student to the trouble-maker, there’s always something that can be transformed in them. It’s when I had the struggling learners for so many years that it sometimes became hard to even want to look for the potential. We sometimes want to run in the other direction or complain about what students come into our classroom. Eventually this became my prayer: God, place the students who need me to see them and their potential in my classroom and give me the grace and strength to get the job done. Any kid who comes into our classroom has the ability to grow and be transformed, and we have to be willing to pick up our tools and go to work. I don’t want to run from the challenge, but rather I want to be part of the before and after – the amazing reveal – at the end of the year. I’m honored to have been selected and placed in the role of having a small part in helping to build these students into who they will be someday.

Seek feedback and put it to use. At breakfast, we had a lovely conversation with one of the managers who was a friend of Joanna’s mom. She, of course, asked us about our breakfast (which was amazing. More on that later.) She told us that since they are relatively new to the food industry, they are always learning. Part of that process, she said, is gathering and implementing feedback. At Magnolia, they ask visitors to give feedback via their website, and they have learned everything from how to improve processes to what new items to add to the menu. One of the things I’ve learned over the years is to ask my students their thoughts on lessons, assignments, projects, the novel excerpt, etc. So how does that look? After we finish a lesson, I ask them what else do they need to know or do to have it. After a virtual discussion with them on their thesis checkpoints, I’ll ask them was that enough help. Do they have enough info to go forward? After we finish a project, I’ll ask them was it interesting, helpful, useful, etc. I ask them what works and what doesn’t. Some responses aren’t helpful, but most actually are. I genuinely want and need to know what I can do to help them. Plus, this process helps them to help themselves, too. The process of me asking for feedback teaches them not only how to think critically from outside an assignment, but it also shows them that I genuinely care and value their role in their own learning and in my teaching. It lets the wear the teacher tool belt, of sorts.

Differentiation is a must. I have been having health issues for some time, and at the beginning of the year, I found out that I was going to have to change my diet completely. I am now 100% gluten free, and I also have to stay away from certain foods that aren’t low FODMAP. It has been a process, and in many cases I can’t enjoy what others are eating. So, when I’m traveling I’m always apprehensive about what choices I’ll have. Magnolia is obviously largely about enjoying food, but I had just planned to make the best of it. To my surprise, Magnolia Table has several amazing gluten-free options and so did the bakery! I was thrilled to be able to have the french toast and the avocado toast at breakfast (we ate there twice LOL). This was amazing for two reasons: french toast is my favorite breakfast dish and the avocado toast was one of Jo’s specials. Then we visited the bakery, and while I didn’t get to try the “wow” cupcakes (according to my hubby), I was able to select from three tasty cookies. Even one of the food trucks on the lawn at the Silos had a unique option for me to try. Now, not every dish was available in gluten free; no cupcakes were either; and not every food truck was able to make a gluten-free creation. The fact still remains, though, that some of the most important items had been differentiated. In our classrooms, differentiation is important because some kids have specific needs that must be met differently in order for them to be healthy – educationally speaking. One size certainly does not fit all when it comes to instruction. We have to offer a different creation that they can digest. That is not to say that everything we do needs to be created all anew. If I did that for every class of 28-34 students I had for three sections, I wouldn’t survive even one semester. It is not feasible to make 20 different flavors of this or that or 20 different math worksheets. What we can do is recreate what is necessary, and work to provide extra support and options on other items where time, energy, and personnel allows. Menu boards, task cards, video links, pre-annotated texts, or dictionaries all provide differentiation in ways that make it possible serve all learners without exhausting yourself. In some cases, we may even have to face that not all students will complete all tasks – but what we can ensure is that all students complete the task that allows him or her to grow and feel fulfilled.

Give them an experience. One of my biggest take-aways from my trip to Magnolia was the feeling of the environment. Not only was everything beautifully created and designed (and I loved all the shout-outs to books and literacy), but it smelled good, and it was clean. Most importantly and impressively, though, at every door there was a staff member to open it for us, smile, and say hello and welcome. Welcome. The feeling of being invited and wanted. I want my students to know they are welcome and wanted. Like I said before we are in a very rural area where many students live in transient housing and family lives are unstable, but that could be true in any demographic. Students are in my classroom for just a short time each day, but I want to be there to welcome them and let them know they are wanted. Your room doesn’t have to be beautiful or amazing, but a nice smell along with some sense of cleanliness and order does help the learning experience. It is often over-quoted, but the old saying of “People won’t remember what you say, but they will remember how you make them feel” is so true. Welcome home, students, welcome home.

As school starts soon for me… it’s almost #demoday! In fact, aren’t we all just a bunch of fixer uppers?

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Best of 2017

It’s been my tradition the past few years to reflect on my best teaching moments of the year. I’m so fortunate to get to work with such amazing students, so it’s hard to pick just a few moments that have been amazing! But I have selected five times throughout the year when I have been most proud of my students! Plus you get to see some more snapshots of the resources from my store that I use in my classroom.

The American Dream Project – There are SO many possibilities for teaching Gatsby. When I have time in my schedule, I love to have students complete the “Making Your American Dream Come to Life” project to end our Gatsby unit. The details, instructions, and rubric are all in my Gatsby complete movie guide. I do hope all their dreams come true!

Vacation Bible School Maker Fun Factory – This year my husband, mom, sister, dad, and I had the task of teaching the nightly lesson to our church’s vacation bible schoolers. Our church had chosen the theme of Maker Fun Factory: Created for a Purpose. We knew we wanted to convey the message that each kid was created for a purpose and God is working on them – shaping and molding them to be something great. So… we transformed our classroom, where students could come and hear the lesson every night, into the inside of a machine! I crafted the lesson each night to tell the story of an important bible character who did great things because they were sensitive to God’s call and were willing to fulfill the plan and purpose He had for them. Those people, our precious church members, dressed like the bible characters, entered as a special delivery, and told the story from their point of view. Each night, the students couldn’t wait to enter the Fun Factory, and they were talking about going into the machine forever! See my entire catalog of kids for Christ materials here!

Break Out Escape Box Games – I had been seeing and hearing about break-out games and escape rooms and even people using them in the classroom, but I’d never seen or done one before. I knew it was something I wanted to try, but I have to admit, I was really apprehensive. So, I attended a training, and the facilitator conducted a game with us, and after that, I knew it was something I had to try with my students. This semester, I’ve done several, and my students are crazy for these games! Since I felt there was such a huge learning curve for me to figure out how to conduct one of these games in my classroom, my escape box games are super user-friendly. They include a simple print-and-go pack of clues for students, three ways for you to play the game, and a video tutorial where I explain everything to you! I have several already prepared for you in my store, so if you are ready to unlock some fun, check them out! All my escape games can be found here!

Canterbury Tales Puppet Show – I’ve never done a puppet show before with my secondary students, and certainly not any seniors. But when I was deciding how to teach the Tales in a modern and engaging way, for some reason a puppet show came to mind! I assigned students in my class one of the tales, and they had to read (from the Prologue) about that character. Everyone took notes on his/her travel log during the show! Then using the super cute clip art puppets I made and a puppet show curtain I borrowed from my nieces, voila! We had a puppet show. My students really got into it, and other teachers have shared their success stories with it, too! The puppet show materials can be found in my Canterbury Tales complete teacher’s guide.

Generational Interview Project with Fahrenheit 451 – When my seniors read 451, the project I assign during part 3 of the book is inspired by the passage where Granger reflects on how his grandpa influenced his life because of the things he was able to do and leave behind. I ask students to close read that passage and answer a set of questions. Then they are required to interview a person several generations older than them and write a report of that interview to share in class. I encourage them to interview a grandparent, and most do. When my seniors presented this year, it was overwhelmingly impressive how many of them took it seriously… and personally. When your seniors cry during a class presentation, you know it just got real. All the materials to conduct this close reading lesson and interview project can be found in my 451 Close Reading Lessons pack or in my 451 Complete Teacher’s Guide.

Please share in the comments below what you tried this year that worked!

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Solar Eclipse 2017 Lesson Ideas for Secondary English

The 2017 Solar Eclipse is coming and my county is in one of the paths were a great amount of totality will be experienced. It’s such a big deal that we’ve called off school that day for several reasons, but we are required to teach a lesson on the event before August 21, 2017. I’ve researched and glanced briefly online, but most lesson ideas that come up are either for math or science, or they are not for middle or high school level. We secondary English teachers don’t want to let the elementary teachers or science and math teachers have all the fun with the 2017 solar event of a lifetime; we “totally” want to join in with the fun, too! Therefore, I’ve brainstormed five ideas that I think are perfect to shed some “light” on the topic in your secondary English class.

1) Reading Informational Text: Find some articles that explain what happens during an eclipse. I used this article @ http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/gem-projects/hm/0304-1-08-eclipse/Types%20of%20Solar%20Eclipse.htm for the lesson I did with my dual enrollment seniors. I had them read the article and annotate. Then, in groups, they had to make a poster displaying that information. There were many skills that I was able to cover in this lesson including reading complex informational (scientific texts which scores points for ACT science); summarizing; classifying information; speaking & listening; art. Before conducting the lesson, review close reading strategies with my Close Reading and Annotating Teaching Pack.

2) Traditional Writing: Students don’t usually get “starry-eyed” about writing, but when the topics are as cool as a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse event, even the most reluctant writers will “shine.”

Narrative Prompt – Tell a story of what happens if the moon didn’t move out from in front of the sun, and it stayed dark forever. Teach younger students to use descriptive language when writing narratives using my interactive “Show. Don’t Tell.” sorting game.

Explanatory Prompt – Compare and contrast the different types of solar eclipses. (This would be a perfect follow up to the informational text reading activity above.)

Explanatory Prompt – Write to explain what causes a total solar eclipse to occur.

Argumentative Prompt – Your school is considering closing for Solar Eclipse Day, but some of the school board members disagree. Write to persuade them to let you have the day off. If your students need extra practice or an introduction to counterclaims, my Claims and Counterclaims Teaching Pack is sure to brighten their arguments.

3) Songs/Poetry: Students love the opportunity to listen to songs in class, and I don’t mind when we can study them as poetry. Take a look at Pink Floyd’s “Eclipse” or Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of My Heart.” These two songs in particular are rich with figurative language and a particularly appropriate dark tone. Grab my poetry analysis bundle with a variety of tools including poetry worksheets, poetry analysis task cards that are perfect for stations, and vocabulary review games. You’ll be all set to guide your students through a celestial poetry analysis.

4) Reading Science Fiction: Ray Bradbury is the first author who comes to mind when science fiction is mentioned. He expertly explored and explicated his imagination of the future and even life outside of earth in relation to and as a reflection of our own humanity. I’ll be reading his “All Summer in a Day” with my juniors for our eclipse lesson. While the characters in the story actually are waiting to see the sun, and we will be waiting to do the opposite on August 21, 2017, Margot, the main character, is literally in the dark and misses the experience entirely because of her antagonistic classmates. See my easy prep, ready-to-go lesson with other paired texts and a complete sun-themed unit. I think this lesson would also work well with younger students, too. If you are looking for a science fiction text for more advanced students, check out Isaac Asimov’s “Nightfall.” Pair it with my literary analysis task cards, and your students won’t be in the dark for long.

5) Creative Writing: Many cities across the country are planning events and celebrations to host viewing parties for the Great American Solar Eclipse. Have your students use propaganda techniques and figurative language to create posters advertising a real – or imagined – viewing party in your neck of the woods. Sneak in a little review of the types of propaganda with my complete teaching pack.

Check out NASA’s website and my own county’s website for more information! #headingtothedarkside

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How My Trip to Disney Helped Me Prepare for Back-to-School

My family and I traveled to Disney World back in June, and I hadn’t been there even half a day before I started feeling inspired. For me, school is pretty much always on my brain, so it’s not surprising that it came to mind even when I was on vacation! But, truthfully, there is so much going on at Disney that I couldn’t help but learn from the best while enjoying my time at the happiest place on earth. Many of these things that I noticed at Disney reaffirmed what I’ve done in my classroom for years, but it’s nice to review, revisit, and recap. Here are five ways my trip to Disney helped me get prepared for back-to-school this August.

1) You can have a happy place and still have rules. Disney is known for being “the happiest place on earth.” So how is it possible that the happiest place has rules? Oh, but they do. They want you to move left, stay inside the tape, stand in straight lines, keep your hands and feet inside, etc. Why do they do this? So people are safe and get to do what they came to do. In turn – happiness. They aren’t unreasonable rules and requests at all. However, don’t most of our students – and maybe even the public – think that rules are just for fuddy-duddies who want to put a damper on all the fun? I, for one, believe in establishing rules up front so that it’s clear what the expectations are. I don’t like to make rules that are arbitrary and just have a bunch of rules just for the sake of having rules, but there must be a set of guidelines. In my classroom I typically select 3-5 overarching rules that serve as my classroom expectations – and that are good rules to live by as well. Too many rules, and all you’ll be doing is enforcing rules, but if you don’t have some rules to control the chaos, the chaos will control you.

I’ve had the following three rules hanging in my classroom for 10 years now:

Mrs. Faulkner Rule #1: Own it and stay in your lane.

Mrs. Faulkner Rule #2: Be aware of your surroundings.

Mrs. Faulkner Rule #3: Make a way, not an excuse.

You might notice I don’t have rules about gum, food, phones, etc. Now I do talk about these specific items on the first day. Check out my fun Classroom Rules Emoji Puppets for doing just that! I’ve learned if students are following those governing guidelines above and if I’m doing my job of actively teaching and facilitating each period, we can have a successful and happy place.

2) Schedules, plans, routines, and structure are necessary for things to run smoothly, for things to get done, and for everyone to feel good about it. Disney has everything planned down to the minute, and there is very, very little interruption to the plan. If you think about how much they have going on to make the parks the happiest places on earth, it’s critical to establish and maintain routines. They have a plan for shows, parades, buses, rides, fast passes, rain delays, and more. They even publish specifically when and where the characters will appear. Now think about how much we have going on in the classroom: attendance, lunch count, signing field trip forms, turning in lesson plans, differentiating, signing devices on the wi-fi, providing make-up work, collecting homework, passing out tasks, assigning groups, scheduling conferences, RTI, passing out a Band-aid, and on and on. Imagine if there were no plan for how to take attendance or how to pass out papers, etc. It would be chaos, kids would know you had no plan, and you wouldn’t get anything done. I am probably an over-planner or over-scheduler, but I do have a plan for every minute of my class period, every day of the week, and even an extended plan for the month. I have routines for turning in papers, passing out papers, getting in groups, and so forth and so on. Now, no plan, routine, or schedule is any good if no one knows what it is. That’s why Disney has the published pamphlets up front each day and even an app. The first few days of school, I talk about my classroom routines and schedules. We even practice, so they know what to expect. Some may argue that it takes up precious time at the beginning of the year, but it SAVES so much time later on. Plus, I just work them into what we are doing so that it feels natural. Each week I write the daily schedule on the board, and each day, I go over the daily plan with students before we start the lesson. We are all on the same page that way and can get moving.

3) Kindness and smiles matter. There are so many opinions about whether or not to smile at students right away or be overly kind to them. I would even say that my own opinion here has evolved over the years. The people who work at Disney wear a smile as part of their uniform – and maybe they are just genuinely happy to be there. I mean, if I were a Disney princess instead of a high school English teacher, then maybe I’d be all smiles all the time, too. But I chose to be an English teacher – I want to be there. So why wouldn’t I let my kids know that with a smile? So can you be kind and smile AND maintain a professional image and relationship with students? Absolutely – yes. I am 100% not my students’ friend – not in any way, shape, form, or fashion. That doesn’t mean, though, that I can’t – or won’t – be kind to them. That also doesn’t mean that I have no classroom management either or that I’m crossing any lines or that I’m not stern or won’t correct them. Believe me, I have plenty of lines drawn. Kids of all ages crave kindness, and for the 90 minutes that I have them each day, I need to find ways to show kindness. And going back to the idea of really wanting to be there – I do and I like to see kids learning and hear what they have to say. That makes me smile. They make me smile. So from the first day of school to the last, I greet them at the door and smile. I say please, thank you, and great job, and I really mean it. Smiles are contagious – give one and get one!

4) Have a grand finale, but start with the fire fingers. The best closing show at Disney this year, in my opinion, was the Fantasmic show at Hollywood Studios. I loved all the closing and opening shows at all the parks because Disney doesn’t ever do anything halfway, but the HS park show had several things that really spoke to me in terms of back-to-school. If you’ve seen the show, you know that it opens with lights and music – it’s the best and biggest lead at any of the shows, and so you are expecting something really, really great. Then up from a mountain on a stage far, far away pops up a teeny, tiny Mickey. Granted, it was a live Mickey and not a projection or puppet, but he was so, so small. I guess I was just expecting more. Then several minutes of almost nothing go by and out of nowhere, he starts to dance and shoot fire from his finger tips!! That is a new level of spirit fingers, folks! Immediately, I was in. Why didn’t they start with that? Why didn’t they start with the fire fingers? The lead in was good and it got me interested, but then it was a huge let-down – until minutes later when Mickey whipped out those fire fingers. When I think about applying this experience to my classroom this year, I was reaffirmed that I must start and end the lesson with something great to get my students’ attention. It certainly won’t be fire fingers every time – or ever LOL! – but it needs to be relevant to activate their learning and draw them in – and keep them in – before I lose them. The law of primacy and recency says you remember the best whatever is at the beginning and ending. I’ll carefully plan bell ringers this year and exit tickets with specific purpose and pizazz so they aren’t just a waste of time or means to an end or a way to check a box. For me, that will look like carefully chosen daily grammar practice because my junior and seniors have ACT on the brain. For yearbook, it will be inspirational photos and team building tasks. To end, I’ll be sure to have students review the lesson and make their own connections. The beginning and end really do matter and make meaning. Every day won’t be “on fire” – that’s just going to be a reality – but this reminded me I do need to bring it to the best of my ability day in and day out.

5) Keep the focus and purpose in mind. I went to Disney with my family and two nieces – nine and three. The girls are super familiar with most Disney characters, and those we knew they weren’t interested in, we didn’t spend much time at. But there was one show we went to and about half way through, my three-year-old niece asked, “Who is that?” We all knew who it was and hadn’t even thought that she might not know. At that moment I realized that might be how our students feel when we present knew material to them. Sometimes we take for granted they know it. Because I have a very tight schedule, I can’t afford to spend time teaching material they already know, but I also can’t afford for them to be lost and have to rush and make it up later. So, at the beginning of the year, I always give a pre-test of 100 words that every high school English students should know. These are words from the CCSS, standardized testing words, and other words that are specific to English. Also, it’s really important to share with students the purpose of the lesson or activity for the day. They need to know why they are learning it and how it connects with the larger purpose. I usually explain it so explicitly to them so that they could tell anyone who comes into the class period to observe or anyone they talk to after class.

At the end of the day, Disney is in the business of making dreams come true. But we teachers are, too. In fact, the biggest of dreams are in our hands. What an honor and privilege to have that role in someone’s life. As I prepare for my 2018 school year, I want to make as much a magic in my classroom each and every day that I possibly can. Here’s to a “Soarin’” kinda year, and not a “Hollywood Tower of Terror” kinda one! Share with me in the comments how you prepare for back-to-school!

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Keeping Kids Tuned in at the End of the Year: A Secondary Linky

It’s getting to be that time of year when things get a little crazy – a little sideways. Students – and teachers – are starting to tune out! Join me for a fun recap of some ways to keep students tuned in this time of year. I’m sharing tips for secondary English classrooms, and since that’s where my experience stops, I’ve enlisted the help of other secondary teachers in all subjects to link up great ideas below!

In a middle or high school English classroom, this is an excellent time of year to start that novel you’ve been wanting to teach or to try a new project. So hopefully, these few ideas will make those even more creative for you! Plus, they are all student-centered and standards-based, so the kiddos stay engaged, and your job is easy!

Make It Real – When the CCSS started to roll out and there was so much emphasis placed on nonfiction, I’ll be honest – like many other “old English teachers” – I was nervous about giving up so much class time to that over my beloved classic fiction texts. Now, I’ve changed my tune completely. I love finding nonfiction texts that stand alone and/or that pair with my fiction. And, honestly, the kids LOVE it when they know it’s real. Sometimes I have them go searching on their own for real information – like in my mini research project on banned books in my Fahrenheit unit. Or other times, I’ll pair the info for them and have them dig into the material in class like in my lesson on the LeRoy HS outbreak after we read Act 1 of The Crucible.
Make It Personal – We all know that secondary students can be ah hem… self-centered. So anytime they get to talk about themselves, there’s pretty good buy-in. My seniors just completed my Generational Interview project as part of their reading tasks for the last section of my Fahrenheit unit. They – and their grandparents – really enjoyed the projects and the kids learned so much about their families and themselves. This was an out-of-class assignment, but they did share in class. Now that’s an easy prep! Another way to make it personal and keep kids tuned in is with poetry that speaks to them. In my treating senioritis poetry pack, I’ve selected several poems that draw on students’ personal experiences and the follow up activities ask students to reflect on their past, present, and future.
Make It Interactive – I have to admit that I’d never used puppets in the classroom before with high school students, but now that I have, I can’t stop. I also have to admit that it was partly my students’ idea to conduct the first puppet show. When my seniors read The Canterbury Tales, I had made little cards with the characters on them. I wanted each student to read and research about that character to share with the class. One student was holding up her card and thought she was being funny when she said, “We should do this as a puppet show.” I said, “Actually, that’s a great idea. Yes, we should.” That night I glued Popsicle sticks on the cards and borrowed a puppet curtain my mom had made for my nieces. Voila! The next day we had a puppet show! After that, I let my emoji addiction get a little more out of control, and I made emoji puppets for accountable talk, review, point of view, and more! See my Facebook post about them!
Make It Project-Based – Projects don’t have to be a lot of work for you. Nor should they be a lot of work to prep. One year I wanted something new and fun for Earth Day, so I rummaged through my junk drawers at the house and had student create uses for the various items. The skills we covered? Propaganda, Info-Text Analysis; Speaking and Listening, Presenting. That project is for sale here! This time of year, my yearbook students also work on projects to keep them busy until the books come back. They would be excellent for a yearbook class, business, art, or technology class.
Make It a Movie Day – Let’s be real for a minute. We can’t always show a movie, but if we are talking about getting tuned in, well, we can’t ignore the obvious. If you missed my post about how to incorporate media effectively, click here to go check that out. I will say that my seniors are going to be watching The Hunger Games next week. Why in the world, right? It was their idea – and it wasn’t because they just wanted to watch it randomly. In fact, they’ve been asking me all along our 451 unit if there’s a sequel to Bradbury’s magnum opus. (Can we pause to just say how awesome it is that they want to read MORE 451?!?!?) Then one day, it dawned on a student that there was quite a bit of intertextuality between 451 and THG. I had noticed the parallels before because I love THG! He made a pretty good case for it, and since I don’t show the 451 movie because it’s so old and not even worth the time, I thought this would be a fun way to end the unit. They’ll have to write something showing those parallels, of course!

Also, if you haven’t already followed over at my Facebook page, I’m doing a promo right now to give away The Shack when I reach 200 followers over there! You’ll need to follow and then go comment on that post, so I can enter your name!

Tips for Surviving the End of the Year in a Secondary Classroom

It’s that time of year when things are starting to wind down. It’s after state testing, and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I teach juniors and seniors and that senioritis starts to creep in about March for the seniors who know their days in public education are just about over. Well, what if those feelings of apathy, tiredness, discontent, and general aggravation aren’t just coming from the students? What if you – the teacher –are starting to feel the summer slide, too? You know the symptoms all too well from seeing it in your students, so if you have that same diagnosis this time of year, here are a few ways to beat that senioritis bug and end the year strong. If you have any tips and suggestions that work, leave them in the comments below!

1) Clean. I don’t know about your classroom, but mine gets so dirty throughout the year with kids coming and going. I’m not talking about piles of papers here or general disorganization; I mean dirt and dust bunnies galore. My board is so smeared, and the desks are pretty much black. A couple times a month, I’ll take the time to wipe down the desks with a Clorox wipe, but at the end of the year, it’s a much better idea to go ahead and break out the 409 and paper towels and give them all a good scrub – mine included. I’ll even borrow a mop and scrub around the baseboards. I
always feel much more refreshed after I’ve given my room a good wipe down.

2) Organize. Piles of papers. Folders stacked here and there. Graded work heaping up. Books waiting to be checked back in. This pretty much describes the scene in my classroom by May. A messy room and/or desk does nothing for my motivation to be at school, and it even makes me want to just throw it all away, which wouldn’t be a good idea since I would have to start all over again in the fall. I have a decent system for organizing and filing, but it just seems to get away from me this time of year while I’m working on closing out yearbook, finalizing grades, and planning graduation. Having a system in place is key, though, because when I do have a second to clean up, it usually doesn’t take too long. I think the major road block to getting organized and maintaining that organization is an over-complicated process. An over-the-top organizational approach eventually gets overwhelming, and in the fast-paced life of a classroom teacher, things need to be simple. When I think of classroom organization, my main concern is not cute caddies and containers for my pencils, tape, etc. (I do have a classroom design/style/theme that I love, though. You can see that post here). Rather, I think of my day-to-day routine, and what it takes for me to plan, teach, grade, and manage my classroom without chaos. I’ve tried many different methods for organizing, and after a while, I think I’ve got it down to what works for me. Even though I teach multiple grades – three out of three preps every semester – I still use the same system for everything. Here’s how I take my desk from chaos to clean in five easy tips that have truly simplified my life over the years.

Have a place for students to turn in work. I’ve seen (and tried) different folders for each class or each student even. I’ve seen accordion files or hanging files for students to turn their work in. I’ve tried having a different place for late or make up work. I can never keep up all of that sorting, and eventually, I just give up. What I’ve come to find is that the more places you store the “Grade Me” work, the more opportunity for it to get misplaced. And that method takes up a lot of real estate in the classroom, too. I’ve been using one
basket as a place for students to turn in work for about three years now, and it has been the ONLY thing to stick – and work. Whether it’s make up work, late work, or daily work, it goes in the “Grade Me” basket. Whether it’s first period, second period, or fourth period, it goes in that one basket. Now, if I’m collecting work from one period, once everyone has turned in his/her paper, I’ll go ahead and paperclip all those together. If I have the answer key handy, I’ll even attach that to the pile as well. Then when I’m ready to grade, it’s all right there in that one place. Yes, make up work or work from other classes gets mixed in from time to time, but that’s ok with me. I know and kids know if their work makes it to the basket, I will eventually see it and grade it. It’s also simple for the kids, and we all know why that’s important. If they can’t figure it out, you can forget it.

Have a place to store graded work until you can get it handed back. You probably already have a space like this in your classroom, but again for me, it must be simple and not take up much space. I just use a magazine bucket, but a hanging file folder box would work well, too. All my classes do
have a separate folder in that box, and when it gets full, I know it’s time to hand work back. Just be aware that students needing to do make up work, might go pilfering through that box for answers on work you’ve already scored.

Have a place for teaching materials you are using on a daily and weekly basis. Again, this is something that I’ve struggled with for years and years, and I just now have a system that works. It also works for having materials handy for makeup work. It goes like this: one box, one hanging folder per class. The end. I think you might be noticing a trend. I like to keep everything in one place. This crate sits on the corner of my desk, and when I make my morning or afternoon copies, I drop them in the correct folders when I walk into the room. If I have multiple lessons going for one class – which I usually do in an honors class – there are smaller folders inside the hanging folders. And, I usually have a folder for the master copies (which came out of my binders and are in sheet protectors) and then another folder for the student copies. I actually have one crate for each prep, and the past few years, I have had three preps, so that’s three crates.

Have a place for master copies of teaching materials. I mentioned master copies in sheet protectors above. By master copies of my teaching materials, I mean one blank copy of any worksheets, etc. the unit plan overview, daily lesson plans, and the answer keys. These go in a sheet protector in a 3-ring binder by class: junior honors, senior dual enrollment, yearbook, etc. Any extra copies or ideas I find during the unit that I might use later go in a manila folder to be filed. As a side note, these sheet protector packs can get pretty hefty, so I use extra capacity sheet protectors that I get from Amazon. Those binders sit on the shelf behind my desk. When I’m ready to start a new unit, I pull out the sheet protector pack and move it to the daily materials box.

Have a place for teaching materials that need to be filed. Since I do have three preps out of three preps each year, this is probably the pile that gets the largest more quickly than any other pile. My “FILE Me’ box is big enough to fit file folders and several stacks of papers. Then, when I’ve finished a lesson and have extra copies or student work samples to file later – during my down time 🙂 – it’s all in one place ready to go in its long-term home in the filing cabinet. If I can, I’ll go ahead and pop it in the filing cabinet as soon as I can. But if it has to sit for a minute, at least it’s already in a folder.

3) Try something new and/or student centered. Now that you’ve completed those lessons that are tried and true to get your students ready for state testing, etc. try something you’ve been curious about all year. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, which leads to boredom, behavior problems, and bad moods. I’ve wanted to try Kahoot – since last May – but I couldn’t fit it in during the year. Plus, I was just really uncertain of how smoothly it would go. Last week, I was not in the mood to do anything – specifically review for EOCs, so I decided it was time to shake things up. We still needed to review grammar before the state testing, so I decided to load some of my real world grammar fails images into Kahoot and just give it a try. Because I already had those made up, it was just a matter of loading those pics and adding the choices. It took me less than 30 minutes to prep it, and it was very easy to use in class. I put my students in groups and let them use one device per group to select their answers. The program basically walks you through the steps. You can also search public Kahoots for free and play with no prep at all! The kids loved it! I was in a much better mood after doing a little something different from the status quo!

More ideas for trying something new:

Another thing that gets me down this time of year being busy from bell-to-bell. At this point in the year, usually, there isn’t any new material to cover, but having nothing for kids to do – or giving them busy work day after day gets old. They eventually catch on and that leads to more problems. A student-centered short research project where students pick their own topic, manage their own product, and then present to the class is just what the doctor ordered. Check out my free Antiques Show and Tell Research Project.

Antiques Show & Tell Common Core MLA Research Project -Fea

4) Have a party.

Kids beg for a party this time of year. I’m not against parties, but I do want them to be on purpose. I’ve shared about my Gatsby party before. Click here to check out that post. Last week, my seniors finished 451, and we had a final party where all the food was red, orange, or yellow. These are the times memories are made, and, of course, some sweet treats are surely the perfect antidote for senioritis. Look at how creative my students were in preparing their “hot” dishes!

5)Plan ahead. What feels better than planning ahead and taking some of the pressure off those first few days of school in the fall? Where I teach, we don’t normally know our schedule or students until a couple of weeks before school starts, but I still always try to take time to reflect on what I did this year. If I have time, I’ll even ask the students to reflect and evaluate the class, so I have authentic feedback as I’m looking at next year. Take a look at ALL my planners – printable and Google-drive planners here!

Here’s to a strong end to the year and a great summer!

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Vintage Rock Star Glam Secondary Classroom Decor for Back to School

It’s typically not a secondary kind of thing to do to have a classroom theme. And I certainly never have in all my years of teaching in 7-12 classrooms had an all-out classroom theme like, say, they do in elementary schools. However, I can say there is great value in having a “theme” of sort – even in a secondary classroom. I like to be super-organized, and a theme/scheme works well for me and the students. My theme is “Rock Star,” and on the first day of school we talk about what my theme is and we have a mini lesson on theme development. I chose the rock star theme because 1) I love music and 2) It sets the “stage” for how we are going to be “owning it like rock stars” every day. Yeah, that may be a little cheesy, but I love cheesy, and it really does work.

I’ve had the rock star theme for several years now, but it was actually pretty “thrown together.” I hadn’t put much effort into the look of it in terms of cohesion or cuteness. It was definitely time to jazz it up a little. I love anything vintage, burlap, pink, and chalkboard, so I decided to put that all together for a shabby chic, glam rock star themed classroom! I had plenty of items in my classroom with “good bones,” they just didn’t match or have much style. I picked a few areas to make focal points of the room, and here are the results.

These curtains could be done a couple of ways. I ordered these ready made inexpensive burlap valances from Amazon and hung them with spring rods. However, there are a number of tutorials out and about for making no sew curtains out of burlap. Everything is better with burlap!

The door is, of course, the first thing students see when they come to your classroom. Like I said before, theme is very important in an English classroom, and we talk about it on day one. So, I wanted them to be aware of it right away – hit them on the head (literally!) Yeah, I did have to pull it up a little higher so my junior and senior boys could walk under it!

This little area is much more functional now with the date blocks, sharpener, and journal buckets all in one place. Plus, now it’s all in one place nearby the weekly playlist of assignments, which I really want them to look at often! I’m so proud of my little chalkboard lamp. It was my granny’s lamp, and I loved having it in my classroom. However, it was green and the shade was dry-rotted. I found that ah-mazing burlap shade at Goodwill for $3.00!!!! After a coat of primer and some chalkboard spray paint, I had a shining jewel for about $10 bucks.

Keeping with my Rock Star theme, I made song quotes chalkboard prints and hung them above where students store their bags. My bulletin boards are covered with black fabric (easier and more durable than paper) and fun layered border. I also smile every time I look at my mirror with the V.I.P. sign above it! I do believe the best boards and walls are student-centered and low-maintenance. See my post on student-centered bulletin board ideas here!

I inherited my podium from a teacher friend my first year of teaching! In its former life, it was a wallpaper stand at a paint store. How cool is that? It wasn’t, however, very fancy. I rolled on a couple layers of chalkboard paint, and now my students and I can write new quotes on it whenever we want! My “I’m Done” box also got a makeover. Here I wanted to add a little bit more pink to the room, so I just bought this durable basket from Michael’s. I used the rest of the chalkboard spray paint on the tray where students return handouts.