Where Are You Aiming Your Lesson?

"Unlike amateur bowlers who aim down the middle with the hope of somehow creating an angle that knocks down all 10 pins, professional bowlers do not aim for the headpin.  They do not aim for the middle.  They aim for the outside pins, the ones that are the hardest to reach.  The reason that professional bowlers throw their balls at a curve is so they can knock down the outside pins, then the inside pins, ultimately creating a domino effect.  Simply, in order to knock down the most pins, professional bowlers aim for the pins that are the hardest to get."

Shelley Moore

Teacher, Author, Speaker

"One Without The Other"

? Elementary School, Edmonton, Canada

 This summer, I am going after some paper qualifications to back up my knowledge and understanding for the years of experience that I have had.  Honestly, sometimes these courses are an exercise in busy work because the aim is at the younger teacher who has less experience in the field.  I always say that if I learn one thing, then the course was valuable.  Such was the case this morning.  Our professor introduced us to a video that was not attached to an assignment.  We watched Shelley Moore talk about her bowling and I was fascinated.  It was a change maker for me.  I have always spent a great deal of energy and time working with the children who might be considered "outside pins."  It has really worked too but it is a whole lot of work.  Shelley's video today helped me to see how I teach differently.  Instead of aiming for the middle and then planning separately for my outside pins, I realize that if I plan my lesson to aim at the outside pins, I will get them all.  That sounds like a whole lot less work - different work, but less.  At my age and stage, having just gotten married to my soul mate, working more efficiently so that I can enjoy other aspects of my life too has become very important to me.  I haven't done in depth study of Shelley's techniques yet but I am going to do.  Her work just went on my very long summer reading list.  This entry is likely to be edited a few times as I do more research into her research.  I am forever grateful to the wise people like Shelley who give us a different way of thinking about things!

Terrain (Level of Difficulty):  💖💖

Kit List:

• notebook/computer
• pens, markers, crayons
• timetable
• video below

The Map:

So, here I am on December 28, after a long and difficult Fall.  The best laid plans of the summer are often put aside when the needs of the children take over.  Ideas, concepts and teaching skills that match the needs of the students rise to the surface.  Others, sit in the back of my mind until the day they are needed if they ever are. 

Not every great idea works for every teacher!  Good teachers are not good because they use all of the latest and greatest.  Good teachers, no - great teachers are great because they understand that there are a variety of superb strategies that don't have any use if the students don't connect with them.  We talk about children growing their backpacks of knowledge.  Great teachers have crates, boxes, files, and whole rooms filled with different strategies that work for different kiddos.  Great teachers are always in search of strategies because no matter how many years we teach and how many children we work with, there will always be at least one student who needs a different strategy for learning.  

It wasn't until I came back to edit this entry that I realized that the concept of "aim" had floated to the top like long vines of lake weed that almost strangled me until I dealt with it.  There were a variety of voices all speaking the same message with different words.  I was almost at my wits end when my favourite special education teacher took time out of her day off to speak to the methodology that matched this concept of aim.  I got it.  Despite her suggestion (with a smile because she knew) that I take the night off, I took out a whole stack of scrap paper and started writing and charting and planning until I had an idea about what my next steps were.

Before you aim, you have to look at the pins.  These are the questions that I asked myself.

-How many pins are you looking at in total.

-How old are they?

-How do the pins identify with regards to gender.

-How many ELL pins do you teach?

-Are there any students with identified special learning needs?

-Are there any pins with sensory, behaviour, social, or emotional needs?

-What is the average reading level?

-What are the average skills abilities in writing?

-Where are your pins with their numeration skills?

-Do the pins have good expression skills (printing, typing, speaking)?

-What energy levels are there?

-Are the students working together as a community?

With the answers to those questions in mind, I started with the timetable.  

Aim:  Low (i) and High (ii)

    i. language skills are generally extremely low and needed across all subject areas, this has to be a priority  

    ii. there are children reading at grade level who will need to learn word decoding for new vocabulary.  

   i. basic numeration skills will also be necessary.  

   ii. problem solving strategies are missing

    i. pencil grip, printing and colouring skills are generally not mastered

    ii.  comprehension of the concept of quality of work is mostly not understood and an introduction to learning extensions will move the higher students along

-continue my PBL (problem based learning) units to keep interest and enthusiasm up while integrating all of my other subject areas.

-teach in small 10-15 minute chunks with transitions and changes between each learning chunk

You can see my timetable linked in the materials.  Since I basically have 2 blocks of 100 minutes, I decided to put the focus of literacy and numeracy in those blocks.  Most of my Morning Meeting has a math focus so it seemed more natural to put the math first (which may be contrary to many old folks like me who remember when the first 100 minutes of a primary student's day was religiously kept for language).  The other reason for putting it there was to ensure that I got a whole 100 minutes for language.  After attendance, announcements, online assemblies...  that first block gets short changed a fair amount.  I had decided that language was the priority so I wanted that block to be sacred.  I added the Minds Up program on Mondays to help the children with some self regulation.  And, I am well known for "Free Friday Fun" where I take out a different set of board games, cooperative games, card games... on Fridays and we play.  It's one of my favourite parts of the week and of course I kept it.  

Basically, I had 3 goals!  That seemed pretty manageable.  To make it even more manageable, I removed all paper/pencil activities except for the phonics worksheet each morning.  I armed myself with:

-class set of whiteboards

-many whiteboard markers of varying widths (one to simulate the size of a pencil)

-class set of fabric work gloves for erasing whiteboards

-class set of clear plastic folders with printing paper inside (two lines split by a dotted line)

-200's charts

-individual plastic bags with letter squares

-making words desktop organizers

-pencil crayons in cups (organized by colour)

-class set of 10-sided dice

-my phone for photographing work samples, audio recording conversations, videotaping kids at work (parents had given permission for my use only)

-large lined yellow sticky note pad for keeping detailed notes

-my watch timer and phone timer

-a wireless doorbell

These were the supplies that I would need everyday.  I didn't give them to the children to store since that would add another layer of complexity.  I kept them in two bins that were easily accessible.  

The Task:

I broke down each part of my new day into the skills that the students would be required to know in order to be successful.  Since almost everything in my day was no longer than 15 minutes, the children would need to be efficient.  Before I began the art of teaching the curriculum, I went back and methodically taught the skills necessary to do the activity.  Here is an example.

Morning Phonics Activity

                Skills required:  get books, open to the page for the day, figure out the instructions, use pencil crayons from tray, colour properly, complete the activity well, work with a peer when needed, extend learning

1.  To start, I put the students' books on their desks before they arrived and opened them to the correct page.  As they got used to this over the next few days, I closed the books and had the children find the page (there weren't many in the book to make it easier).  Finally, after two weeks, I put the books in a bin as they entered the classroom.  I know you're thinking that 2 weeks wouldn't be enough for some but I am going to get to that with my aim at both ends.

2.  I enlarged the worksheets to 11X17" on the photocopier and demonstrated where I could find the instructions and what to do if I couldn't read them.  We talked about how the worksheet gave us clues.  There were only 2 different types of worksheets.  On one, they had to colour the picture that matched the initial sound in the box.  On the other, they had to circle the letter of the initial sound.  I knew that all of my students knew their initial sounds so the focus was not on the curriculum.  I gave them a whole class rule which we use for everything now.  If the sheet does not require colouring, two things must be coloured well on it.  Why?  I wanted them to slow down and consider the quality of what they were handing in.  I also wanted them to practice colouring.

3.  I taught the children to colour in one direction after tracing the shape that they are colouring.  

Now, before I go on, many of you who are younger are going to think that I am just reverting back to old school teaching.  You might suggest that my focus is on the wrong thing.  You might say that I shouldn't put my focus here because it isn't in the curriculum.  I'll take all of that!  What you can't argue is the subjective perception of quality!  There are few in this world who would look at a ratty paper bag, ripped and filthy and pick that for their lunch over a shiny Paw Patrol lunch box even though the contents might be exactly the same.  Teaching children to present their learning in ways that are appealing makes their jobs really a whole lot easier.  

I held them to that standard.  I made extra copies of each worksheet.  Now this next part, you need to do with a lot of finesse and understanding.  When a child handed me their work, if they hadn't followed the rules for colouring, I gave them a new sheet.  I didn't say anything.  I didn't berate.  I suggested they go back and remember what the rules for the activity were.  I didn't do it with every student either.  This, I think, is something I can't teach.  You need to know who and when you can do this and if you make a mistake, you'd better be awfully quick to the apology.  I had 2 little ones who tested me at first.  They both did the same sheet 3 times.  When I gave them the third sheet, I lightly tapped my pile of extras so they knew I was in it for the long haul.  They are two of my most diligent workers now!  Their work is stunning, complete and often they are extending their own learning.

4.  To go with this, I gave them pencil crayons.  I said many times, "The great thing about pencil crayons is that you can erase a mistake."  No one ever asks me to use markers anymore and if you teach primary, you know what a miracle this is!  We'll talk about markers in the new year.  

5.  What is always a tricky concept is knowing when you are done.  What does "done" mean?  How do I know if I have everything.  Remember that when you are aiming, you are aiming at both sides of the bowling lane.  This is where the "high" students are brought in.  Since the activity is easier for them, they can check a peer's work and they can talk about how to make the work better.  The skills of this conversation need to be carefully taught.  I use standard lines at first and I heard many of my students using them with each other.  For example, "I really like the way you coloured the clown's hair orange!  I wonder if you thought about how many pictures we have to colour on this page."  

Important Note:  Your "high" students aren't high in everything!  A good balanced day includes times where every single student in your class has an opportunity to be the "high" kid!

6.  Finally, there is the concept of "extending your own learning."  In Ontario, we assess a B+ to a student who is meeting the provincial standard.  A's are only given to students who demonstrate understanding or skill beyond the provincial standard.  So, I teach the children how to do that.  This was the perfect place since I knew that all of my students knew their initial sounds.  We discussed and brainstormed ways that the children could show me that they knew more about sounds than what was required.  This gave everyone an opportunity to earn an A on the activity.  It also set up each of my students to excel when they are on the high side of the bowling lane.  

Breaking the day down, and teaching each of the skills for each of the 10-15 minute blocks this way didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would.  We'd already built community and believe it or not the children were very enthusiastic about this new direction.  I am going to chalk that up to them finding success, knowing how to achieve more success, and feeling comfortable with the expectations.  I started in the middle of October and by the first of November, I was full tilt back into teaching the curriculum and the learning rate became out of this world!  My class reading average jumped from PM Level 5 to PM level 14 in reading alone in just 2 months!  Believe me when I tell you that not one of my lessons is one of those spectacular lessons that I worked so hard with to have props and costumes and magic...  These were simple 10 minute activities.  For example, one of my students' most favourite word wall games is to see how many times they can write the hardest word wall word in one minute.  Yep!  I was disgusted too!  To think of the time, I had spent planning and prepping and buying materials for fantastic lessons when I can get the whole class in loud cheers just by taking out a one minute sandtimer and pointing to the word wall while all the children have their whiteboards.  (I'll detail the other games, lessons, and activities that I use in math and language in a later entry).  

Here is the key and the place where I cycle back to the aim!  I am confidently professionally bowling in my classroom now.  The 10 minute activities give the children who are on the outside section of the lane and struggling a chance for direct and specific instruction.  The repetition of lessons and activities keeps the focus on the new skill or concept instead of on the instruction.  The children on the other side of the lane who are finding the concept or skill easy are not bored.  The movement of the day is fast.  They have learned to extend their learning and help others constructively.  I have to laugh now when I hear a student say, "I'm teaching fishing, Mrs. Moffatt." -but that's a story for another day.  Everyone - literally everyone - is learning and growing and happy!   One of the children who was having a great deal of difficulty before the switch was overheard by his mother telling his 3 year old sister that she had to get Mrs. Moffatt as a teacher because she makes everything about learning fun (remember the 1 minute sandtimer?).  It's disgusting!  But, I'll take bowling in a league like that everyday and twice on Sundays!

Tip #11:  KISST

If you didn't hear it, let me repeat it again!  Keep It Simple Smart Teacher!  If it isn't manageable, it won't work.  That's the biggest lesson that I learned this Fall and it took a long time for me to learn it.  It doesn't have to be complex.  Everyone wants to feel successful.  Teach people in ways that brings this to light instead of tears it down.  If the students aren't responding, what you are doing isn't working!  That is your job!  Pull up your adult pant strap and find another strategy!  It's doesn't have to be magic or complicated or fancy!  Just do it!

Tip #12:  Is This Really My Job?

Yes, this really is your job.  It isn't the student's job to teach themselves.  It is absolutely yours!  Teaching is not talk at, lecturing, assigning and marking.  Teaching is learning, developing, adapting, modifying, being creative and finding strategies that work.  Don't give up!  Even on the last day of school, I still think about strategies that I might have tried to make things easier for kiddos to understand!  Teaching is an art and a science but it is without a colour wheel or a table of chemical elements.  Sometimes, it is all about blood, sweat and tears.  I had much of that this Fall.  Every drop of that is worth it to see my students where they are now!  Getting here is the passion that drives me past the days I wonder if I've got what it takes.  And yes, 31 years in, there are still days like that!

Adventure Recipe: Find Your Soul Colleagues

This may not be as intuitive as you think!  Finding a group of people who may or may not know each other from a variety of different backgrounds, experiences, and years of experience is really important.  I'm quite blessed to have my parents who were both teachers advise me.  I also have a whole group of other people whose wise words I remember because they are no longer here or whose phone numbers I can call when I'm struggling.  Not all of them are teachers.  Sometimes, our soul colleagues have a different point of view.  This is probably the largest group of people that I surround myself with and most of us would never socialize but we have a keen respect for each other.  Their voices range from the progressive educators to the old school, one room teaching style educators.  They are passionate about what they do and they are successful.  Even though some of us would kill each other if we had to work together, we can stand back from each other and see which parts of each other's styles might work for us and why they work for them.  

In October, this year, I was falling apart.  Neither myself nor the students were having the fun or the learning that we wanted to have!  I was exhausted, frustrated, and even questioned if I had waited one year too long before I retired.  I was also not alone.  My classroom door was sometimes a revolving door of other teachers in exactly the same place.  This post Covid return to a school building with all of the Covid protocols still in place was exhausting and hard for everyone!  It was a Tuesday.  I won't forget that because for whatever magical reason, Tuesdays are our hardest days together with this class.  I broke down in tears.  I thought that I had tried every strategy I had.  It wasn't working and dealing with yet another social breakdown at recess put me over the edge.  I was so sad for these kiddos and myself.  My special education teacher works 4 days/week but she is one of my soul colleagues!  I called her, apologized, gave her an out in case she was in the middle of something on her day off, and begged her for help.  She hit the nail on the head!  Sometimes, it is the special education teacher's voice that will speak to you better than any other.  They know your students.  They know you.  They've seen you in action.  This is absolutely true of my soul colleague.  Even though I couldn't see her smile when she told me to take the night off, knowing full well that I wouldn't, I knew it was there!  She untangled me from all that lake weed that was threatening to strangle me, translated the information into useable chunks, and gave me a virtual hug when I needed it!  

If you don't have your set of soul colleagues, you know what your first job is once you've finished reading this post!  Go find them!!!!!!