Teaching Grade 3 in 2020-2021

As term 3 begins I am taking a moment to reflect on the year in Grade Three so far. Time sure does fly when you are having fun. I cannot believe that I have already spent six and a half months with my classes and this is the first blog post I have written about being their teacher. The truth is I love teaching both my classes and I am doing all that I can to make sure they have a great year.

I have learned the importance of authentic tasks for students and teachers alike. Returning to school in September with covid restrictions in place was a challenge. I wondered how to get my students excited about learning as they sat in rows and worked independently. Oh yes, and not be worried about Covid either!

Science was the answer! I switched my teaching units around and started the year off studying soil. I could get the children outside, get them moving, and give them a chance to get fresh air. Little did I know that it would be the start of such a terrific year. The whole class got right into learning about soil, and well, we found a worm.

 

The learning then took a turn, and we started reading and researching about worms. We couldn’t believe how much they helped soil. We collected worms and started a worm compost. I was brave enough to hold some worms and not pass out, and the children loved it. We then dove into growing plants from kidney beans, and the children were excited. My students who found it challenging to sit still during class were fully engaged and loving learning.

Students who hadn’t loved school in the early grades suddenly wanted to learn and didn’t want to miss a class. Authentic tasks are the answer! I presented global math task challenges for students to complete. I connected with a fellow educator in Tennessee, and we got our classes together for a Mystery Number game. The students loved it, and they were completely engaged. The students also worked on Global Math Task challenges that Heidi Samuelson posts each week.

We had zoom calls with students in Tel Aviv, and we talked and learned from each other. We took part in a global Livestream event at the DigCit Summit: the students took turns talking about digital citizenship. My students also took a research project they worked on and shared the information with a class in Taiwan to learn about Ontario cities. All these tasks and projects have been authentic and have enriched the teaching and learning in my class.

I had learned that relationship is the key to getting students excited about learning. It was an important lesson that I took away from distance learning in the spring. I had started the year off trying to build those relationships as quickly as I could. The truth of the matter is I thought we would be in school for a few weeks, and I had to get to know my students fast. I am grateful that I spent 15 weeks in the class with my students before we had a month of distance learning.

I have been working hard to teach my students about digital citizenship over this year. Launching student blogfolios have been the next logical step in learning about being a good digital citizen online. It is crucial to teach children how to use the internet safely and learn about digital footprints at an early age, especially in this world of YouTubers and Tik Tok videos.

My students need to learn the same lessons about posting on the internet. I have watched how engaged and motivated the students are when they work on a blog post or connect with another class. I am excited to see how they will put greater effort into their work and pay special attention to detail. I believe the quality of the written work will improve and the students will work harder to edit before they publish a post. The students are reading classmates’ posts and making comments. It is so much fun to see the children connecting in this way. Perhaps some grandparents will even read a post or two and comment.

 

I also believe that the blogs will give my quieter students a chance to share their voices and shine. Blogs will also be a perfect place for students to own and enrich their learning. Students will reflect on their learning, document it, and make their thinking visible.

STEM challenges are inspiring students to be innovators and problem-solvers. We are working on a global Public Service Announcement with the Digital Citizenship Institute to teach people how to make good comments on blogs. We are writing a song about peace for the global World Peace Song Project. The Global Act Aloud will have us showing off our acting skills. We also working on a kindness initiative.

In this year like no other, my main goals have been to get the children excited about learning, connecting globally. It is safe to say that we are having fun and learning so much in Grade 3. I am excited to see what the rest of the school year has in store for us.

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Relationships Matter in Distance Learning

It has been two weeks today since the school year ended. I find myself reflecting on the school year and the distance learning portion of the year. All of my students did a terrific job of adapting to learning from home. I am a big believer in developing strong relationships with students at the best of times. I acknowledged the importance of developing relationships in a reflective post earlier this year. I think it is even more important in distance learning. Students need to maintain contact and relationships with their teachers and their classmates. All relationships matter during this uncertain time. It was such a gift to spend more time with students and talk to them individually. I have loved seeing all the pets and siblings the students have talked about throughout the year.

                                                       The School Day

I was lucky to see all my students throughout the day. Our school, the OJCS, offered a full day trilingual program online. I taught both my classes virtually in the morning. My students learn French and Hebrew and English. Half of the day consisted of live online lessons for each language. The afternoon schedule allowed for more self-directed learning with Art, Gym, and Genius Hour. I had the opportunity to work in smaller groups and one on one with students during the afternoon. I helped students with reading, practice multiplication tables, and work on math problems step by step. The opportunity to meet with students and talk to them individually was valuable. 

                                                                   It takes a Village

Good relationships with parents also play a vital role in the teacher and student connection. I have always worked hard to maintain good partnerships with parents. This pandemic brought the parent-teacher relationship to a new level. Parent-teacher conferences took place in the evenings during the first week of distance learning. My grade-level team and I met the parents in Google Hangouts and spoke about the children. We saw parents in the dining room, living room, and the bedroom. Looking back now, I realize how crucial to meet at that point to maintain and strengthen the partnerships we had established earlier in the year. The conferences were relaxed and so meaningful. 

 Parents became trusted and respected partners in this journey. They gave us valuable feedback on the distance learning schedules during Phase 1 and Phase 2 of our program. They were patient with us as we learned to make Google Meets and have learning materials ready to print on Sundays. 

During the first few weeks, I received some emails from parents letting me know their child was having a tough day or needed extra help with an assignment. I took the time for a virtual visit to talk about rough days, and made the time to offer additional help in the afternoons. Time was also set aside for afterschool meetings to discuss challenges students were facing with distance learning. I was able to personalize, enrich, and modify programs for my students. One parent told me that her son shared that he felt the teachers cared about him and encouraged him, which made him want to do better, which in turn made him love school.   

 Parents became trusted and respected partners in this journey. They gave us valuable feedback on the distance learning schedules during Phase 1 and Phase 2 of our program. They were patient with us as we learned to make Google Meets and have learning materials ready to print on Sundays. I am so thankful for the open communication, collaboration, and support that we received from our parents.

   

                                                            Classroom Community  

My teaching partner and I worked hard to create a supportive and engaging classroom community this year. We took extra care when our classrooms became virtual. The students learned how to reach out through google hangouts to ask questions or let us know if they were having any difficulties. Google hangouts turned out to be the perfect way for my quieter students to contact me. I think they reached out to me more in distance learning than they ever did in class. 

Students were able to message me directly and let me know they didn’t understand part of a lesson. They didn’t have to ask a question in front of their classmates. I had the opportunity to get to know my quieter students on a whole new level. There were times when a few students stayed behind at recess so they could talk about their parents (doctors) working and dealing with COVID-19. I needed to stop and listen to them. Strong relationships mattered so much. Students know if teachers care about them, and it makes all the difference. It means a lot when teachers take the time to listen to them and help.

I made sure that there were also opportunities for students to work with a partner or small group in google hangouts and continue to maintain friendships with all of their classmates. Math Olympics, math escape rooms, and small group projects had students working together and having fun. Laughter and excitement filled computer screens. Classes came together for speeches, celebrating special holidays, and taking part in weekly live-streamed Kabbalat Shabbat from our school Facebook page.

 I was amazed by the kindness and care the students showed each other. I think many of them realized what a unique and challenging experience this was. We had many honest and open conversations about distance learning and how to handle the challenges. My students encouraged each other, helped each other and listened to each other. Some of my spirited students in the physical classroom were more focused during virtual school and showed great leadership with their classmates.

 

                                Creating a school-wide community

The school did a terrific job of going forward with all of our scheduled school-wide events online. We had the pleasure of welcoming grandparents from all over the world for virtual Grandparents’ Day. We spent a beautiful morning with them. Our Maccabiah games( Sports Day) went on as planned: our teams loved completing their goose chase missions. Each team consisted of students from across the grades. They spent time learning a song and special cheers.  

 

A virtual talent show was held one night for the 4th and 5th-grade students and boy what a night it was. The students showcased hidden talents, and some families got in on the action and performed together. It was so neat to see so many smiling faces in the little boxes on my computer screen and see the positive comments in the chat in the Google Meet. One student told me that she would only perform if I did, so I did. I signed up and performed a song with three of my colleagues. It was a perfectly imperfect talent show, technical glitches, and all! 

We came together for the public speaking finals, and end of the year assembly as well. These moments of being together helped make our school and class community grow stronger. I can honestly tell you that the students, my teaching partner, and I were not ready for the school year to end. We all lingered in our Google Meet after the final bell rang on the last day of school. We just weren’t ready to say goodbye to each other yet.

 

The First Five Days

Inspired by the BLC’19 conference I attended in Boston I decided to listen to a podcast with Alan November discussing the First Five Days of school. Fresh from the conference with so many ideas swirling around in my head I kept thinking of the First Five Days talk by Alan November I saw last October. I remember being upset at the time because I had not started the school year the way Alan November talked so passionately about. I vowed that this year would be different as I listened and took notes. It is all about Relationships, Risks, and Responsibility.

Day 1  Ask Questions

Day2  Search &Organzie Find your own answers

Day 3 Responsibility

Day 4 Be Problem Designers

Day 5 Global Collaboration

To get ready for Day 1 I will work on researching and getting comfortable with open-ended questions. It was surprising during a workshop session on Learner Driven Inquiry that most teachers ask too many closed questions. I will be looking to https://rightquestion.org for resources and ideas. I love how Alan November talks about starting off with no content and having students formulate questions will be engaging and motivating for them as no judgment will happen during this phase. Students of all abilities will be excited to formulate questions and work with a partner to look at questions to prioritize the top 3 questions. I cannot wait to start off the school year in an exciting way. This should be awesome!

Getting started!

I cannot believe that I have finally mustered the courage to write my first blog post that focuses on my learning. I have been talking about it all year but have kept pushing it out of my mind until today. A fellow teacher, Josh Ray replied to my email the other night and encouraged me to document how excited I am about all that I learned at the Building Learning Communities in Boston

A wonderful presenter at the conference Silvia Tolisano suggested that if teachers want their students to use blogs to document their learning the teachers should document their own learning through a blog. She also asked me point blank if I was going to challenge myself this summer as I read the Documenting 4Learning book for summer PD.  A little secret about me that if someone does challenge me I always go for the challenge. The problem is that this challenge seems scarier than most as I am a pretty private and quiet person in a professional setting.

I have been a teacher for thirty years and I am happy to report that I am so excited about learning and starting the school year. I never thought that I would be so excited in year 30 but I am!