Wednesday 20 February 2013

Quotes for inspiration!

I use a lot of quotes in my classroom to inspire and direct students in their learning. I have a wall which displays quotes that students can refer to.

Next week we will be attending PCYC which is aimed at building resilience and team work amongst other qualities in students.

Before we go I ask students to choose out a quote and write it down to direct and focus students on certain independent goals.

At the end of each session I ask students to reflect on their quote and give examples of how they achieved it or what they could do next time to achieve it.

I frequently refer to the quotes on the wall to help guide my students. An example of this is when I hear a student say 'I can't do this' and I will reply with one of the quotes on my wall which says 'don't tell me what I can't do, let me show you what I can do!'

Quotes play an important part in my classroom practice.

Friday 15 February 2013

Writer's Notebook focus

Second week of school and my class have already completed their first week of swimming lessons. Wow!! Busy, busy.

My class routines are coming together. Literacy routines are quickly being learnt and I am loving the engagement of students with their Writer's Notebook.

For those of you who don't know much about Writer's Notebook it is an amazing writing program which is directed through student interest which really increases engagement in students.

We are currently looking at writing snapshots which is a great quick way to assess how students go at writing in present tense and from first person.

It's a process to change the students who want to do a first draft and then expect to do their final presentation. I try to refer to professional writer's and talk about how many drafts they complete. Most students can see how much their writing improves from first draft to final draft and that converts them. But there always seems to be one or two who don't want to change what they have written and will get disheartened with constructive feedback.

Would love to hear from other teachers as to what they have done when challenged with the same situation. What are your ideas?

Thursday 7 February 2013

Behaviour chart

First few days into school and things are running smoothly. I am loving the balance of personalities in my class and the uniqueness that each student brings to the table.

Over the last few days I've been busily trying to get around and finish those little jobs that need doing. Today I finally finished off the behaviour chart in my room.

My behaviour chart has three levels- 1,2 and 3. If students make the wrong choices they move up this chart by finding their picture and sticking their picture on the level applicable. The thing I like about this is it is making students remove themselves from the situation they were in to choose out their picture and place it on the display. This gives students time to think and make a better choice.

I have used this process over the last few years but I wanted to add a more positive behaviour spin on it. Therefore I have added another element to the display which says "star performer". If I find a student working hard and making good choices then their picture can be placed on this to reinforce good behaviour.

To make my display I use Velcro dots on the display and the back of the photos to make the photos of students stick to the display.

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Star Goal Setting

Today was my first day with my wonderful students and the day seemed to fly by so quickly. The students seemed excited to be back to school and full of energy. I had an amazing first day and I am very excited at the prospect of what the year will bring. One of the activities I did which I put onto Teachers Pay Teachers website is a yearly goal setting using the five points of a star. On each point students set a goal to improve something from the areas of literacy, numeracy, science, physical and social. When this is completed they cut the star out and each star is placed on display for students to refer to throughout the year.
First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth - TeachersPayTeachers.com

Sunday 3 February 2013

School starts back tomorrow!

My lovely Summer holidays have come to an end and I am back to school tomorrow feeling re-energised and ready to go. A quote that I have found to inspire new beginnings for myself as a teacher is... "The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn."(John Lubbock). I will envisage to engage all of my students so that they have a smile on their face and can't wait to come to school each day to learn. It's not what you teach, but how you teach it. Looking forward to having an amazing year with an amazing group of kids.

Mrs Munday's Memoir!

I am not the most computer savvy intellect but I am hoping upon my journey this will improve. Join me in sharing my memoirs of my life as a teacher.

Before we begin... A little bit about myself. I am a loving and devoted mother to my two gorgeous girls. They are my number one passion in life along with my loving husband. My second passion in life is teaching. Which brings me to this blog.

I am a grade 5 teacher and in my 5th year of teaching. Along this journey I will frequently use quotes because I love them. My first quote is based on my teaching philosophy. It is "In all humans, innate capacity is transformed into performance through its interaction with motivation, environment, and the opportunity to learn and practice" (Cathcart, 2005, p.20). I will endeavor to blog my teaching beliefs, ideas and reflections which I use to transform student capacity into performance. So please join this blogging journey with me as I attempt to improve my technological capabilities and reflect on my teaching practice.

To be continued...