Two Resources I Want to Share with You

If you've been around here a while, you probably have been hearing me talk about two topics that have been on my mind a lot lately.  Namely, teacher self-care and balance with the rest of your life, and giving teens role models of other teen scientists.

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As I have been digging into these topics I came across two resources that I want to share:

1) Angela Watson is the author of the 40 Hour Work Week Program (which I have not done), the Truth for Teachers Podcast (which I love), and many other teacher resources.  Her newest resource is this book.

She describes herself as "productivity and mindset specialist, author, and motivational speaker for educators" and that she believes in "challenging the narrative of the overworked and unappreciated “super teacher.”

This book does a great job of that.  She is not teaching time management and productivity tips, but really addressing the underlying issues, both systemic and individual mindset to help us view our jobs and manage teacher stress and constantly increasing demands in a healthier way.

2) As you know I have been working on creating resources about meaningful examples of teen scientists.  In doing this work I have been lucky enough to correspond with a few of them.  One was Stella Bowles.  If you aren't familiar with Stella, here is a link to her website.  I am working on a differentiated reading comprehension passage about her now.  However, in talking with her, I found out that among her other amazing work, she has written a book!  The book is geared toward middle or high school students. It is currently in the classrooms of all the schools in the Canadian province where she lives, but she is looking to get it into more classrooms, including here in the US.  I think this would be a fantastic cross-disciplinary project, or even a book to read in class.  

It is both a great read, and yet another example of a teen really making a difference!  

If you end up checking either of these out, I'd love to hear your feedback! 

(note: affiliate links)

Aiming for Respect and Discipline in the Classroom

Aiming for Respect and Discipline in the Classroom

If you are struggling with classroom management and feel like it’s a struggle to have your students respect you and follow your discipline, here are a few key suggestions. 

My Background

Before I start, I want you to understand where I’m coming from. I have taught for 14 years in an urban district, with an overall free and reduced lunch rate of about 85%. Our population is mostly minority, largely African-American. I am not an expert on classroom management by any means, but as a small-stature, white female I have learned quite a bit over the last 14 years!

Relationships

First of all, respect and classroom discipline all comes back to building relationships. Relationships are the biggest key! You've probably heard it over and over again but it can't be said enough. So, how do you build relationships with your students? Be a little bit flexible. Get to know them as people. Share parts of yourself with them as you are comfortable. It doesn't have to be anything too personal. But don’t be afraid to show that you have a sense of humor and that you are a real person.

Be Flexible

Appreciate that they are people, not just students. That also might mean being flexible with how they do an assignment or giving them a little bit of a break on a particular day if you can see that they really need it. Treat an isolated day of non-compliance the way you would want to be treated if you weren’t feeling well or had an off day. However, when you see a pattern, treat it differently. But still with respect. Don’t humiliate and confront a student. Discuss it with him or her separately. Think about it, we go to work and we are not always at our best. We appreciate it when our co-workers help out, but we sometimes don't allow students the same flexibility. There may be a way to compromise with a student or to meet their needs while still getting them to do the work.

You are the Adult

Remember, you are the adult, and they are the child. I say this not to hammer home the idea of the student ‘listening to the adult’ and ‘following directions.’ Instead, I am suggesting that you can outsmart them! If you can make some small concessions and at the end of the day they are still doing work then you win! Remember the big picture, and don’t get into a confrontation with them. Keep your eye on the goal - their classwork and their learning and figure out a plan together to help them get there. If they're doing what they need to be doing in some format, then you're winning even if they didn't do it exactly the way that you had in mind.

Consistency

You can also help with discipline in the classroom by being really really consistent for a long period of time so that when students walk into your room they always know what the expectations are. They know that when you say something you will mean it. This doesn't mean being confrontational necessarily but being clear and then sticking to it. For example, if you ask students to be quiet when you're talking, and when they are talking, you may need to stop and remind them that it's your turn to talk and then wait. It will feel like you're wasting class time waiting. The waiting might be brutal. But, by establishing those norms at the beginning of the year, it will save a lot of trouble later. Similarly, if you expect students to pick up a folder or paper on the way in, and they walked by without doing it, remind them to come back and get it.

Plan for Success

Lastly, another step towards respect and discipline in the classroom is helping the students feel successful and feel like their time is not being wasted. I believe that even our struggling students want to feel that they can accomplish what they're supposed to be doing in class. Many students may get frustrated. You may be seeing what appears as disrespect or discipline problems but if, instead, students can focus their energy in a more positive way you may not see as many behavior problems in class.

Safety First

Also remember, safety first so if you are ever concerned about safety don't hesitate to have a student removed from your class.

Need Additional NGSS Science Resources? Start Here

Need Additional NGSS Science Resources? Start Here

If you are starting NGSS and finding it overwhelming, don’t be overwhelmed. It’s really not completely different than good science teaching practice has always been. We already teach students about thinking like a scientist, using evidence, problem-solving, and basic inquiry processes. Many of us are already using engagement activities or a discrepant event (not so different than a phenomenon). A discussion of the similarities and differences between inquiry and storylines is given here. They do differ, but there is overlap,

Yes, the curriculum and assessments might change, and your day to day teaching may change because of that, but it may not be as dramatic of a change as you may be afraid of!

As you are looking to build lessons that support NGSS, here are a few links and resources that could help: 

NGSS Lessons

NGSS Lesson screener - this is a tool to check if your lesson is aligned to NGSS. A lot of your prior lessons might just need tweaking in one or two areas to fulfill the requirements. This is a very in-depth evaluation tool. They state that “a lesson is defined as a coherent set of instructional activities and assessments that may extend over several class periods or days; it is not just a single activity”

If you find that you need some additional tweaks, storylines, phenomena, or other resources to get you started, here is a shortlist of places to start:

Tweaks, storylines, & phenomena

• NSTA NGSS Hub - a hub of resources created by NSTA, and organized by topic
• Next Generation Science Standards - The standards themselves but searchable by grade level, topic, crosscutting concept, etc. If you are getting ready to teach a particular topic, it can be really helpful to see where it connects with other topics, or what exactly the students are required to know.
• NGSS Phenomena - one part of NGSS that I really like, personally, is that it asks students to look at phenomena from the real world and to examine what is happening. As I mentioned, these are a lot like discrepant events or engagement activities, but they can also be used in other ways. This is a searchable database of pictures, videos and other phenomena. It also includes some pages on “How to Use Phenomena” and examples.
• The Wonder of Science - This is a treasure trove! Of course, not all topics are present, but it is searchable by standard, and then includes examples of complete units with storylines, phenomena, etc. I would definitely start here to get your brain going!
• Next Generation Science Storylines describes themselves as a project dedicated to providing tools that support teachers in developing, adapting, and teaching with strongly aligned NGSS materials in classrooms around the country. A storyline is basically a series of coherent lessons (coherent to students) that focuses on solving a problem. The steps should be driven by students’ questions. Again, for the topics that are covered, there are examples of complete units, with teacher handbooks and supporting materials.
• Science Buddies NGSS Lesson Plans - Lastly, if you are looking for something a little briefer, that will let you get right into the lesson plans, this is a good place to search.

I also wrote about NGSS here. New York seems to be a bit behind, so I am not an expert, but I’m trying to share it with you as I learn. I’d love to hear from some of you who are ahead of the curve!