SOL #2 A Little Writing Goes a Long Way

So in anticipation of my co-teacher’s absence tomorrow, I began preparing the classroom. I thought it might be a nice idea to include a note on a few students desks to remind them to have a great day tomorrow and to ask them how they were going to do exactly that…

and then… it got away from me.

I was suddenly scurrying from desk to desk filling out sticky notes of tasks that needed to be done in the classroom, scribbling down reminders to have positive days, and encouraging positive interactions with classmates. You can say I “ran” with the moment.

They say a little writing goes a long way, I sure hope they’re write. 😉

SOL #19 Real Life Problem Solving

Another proud moment in my Third Grade class.

I try to foster a community of problem solving for my students. Often when they come up to me with an issue, I ask, “What did you do about it?” or “What did you say to ___?”

This encourages students to first attempt to problem solve on their own and then seek adult as a backup.

On Friday, I saw these problem skills in action! One student came up to me and asked if her and three of her friends could take time to talk because they needed to “talk it out” and “figure it out” together.

Of course, I said yes! So as I was conferencing with another student for extra help on homework, I watched this meeting in the back of my room unfold.

How amazing!

They never once came to me with their problem..and by the end of the day, they were all smiling and getting along!

3K students asking for a space to solve peer conflicts on there own-problem solving skills in real life.#tigerslearn pic.twitter.com/VWzs5BPTFm

— Amanda Kriegl Anderson (@TheTeachingBee) March 20, 2016

I guess you could say that Friday was full of proud moments like this one. 🙂

SOL Day #5 Beautiful Hearts

Yesterday a beautiful thing happened.

My third graders were learning about Context Clues. Their task was to work together as a table group to figure out the unknown word using the clues in the sentence.

One of my students was struggling and his table-mates noticed. They didn’t realize I had overheard their conversation.

In a gentle way, Student A said, “Are you confused about how to do this, ___?”

“If you are, it’s okay! Tell Miss Kriegl!” Student B suggested.

“Maybe we could help you during reading, ____!” piped up Student C.

I knew I had just witnessed an unforgettable moment unfold. These students recognized the trouble in this worried student’s eyes. They did not laugh, they did not mock, they did not ignore it. Instead, they chose to have compassion and reach out to help another in need.

If that’s not the making of amazing, empathetic characters, I don’t know what is. We could all take a page from their book.

In this moment, I could not be more proud of my students and their beautiful hearts.

 

 

This is the Notebook Page that his teammates made to help him out! What a hoot, right?! So clever, so funny, so compassionate! 🙂

And I love how it says College Class 1. hahah!