This slice is part of the 17th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol24 I’m slicing every day this month, for the 11th year! Wahoo!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Calm Down
the months I knew for sure my friend was going to die but didn’t know my husband was screwing my kids’ teacher a song kept coming on my shuffle, trying to get me to pay attention to my instincts
I would sob on the way home from visiting my dying friend
Breathe It’ll be okay
later I found out how true the song actually was
so it seems pretty dramatic that work is making me sing that same song I’m rolling my eyes at myself here
nobody’s dying (besides all of us at some point) I’m not even married anymore
just put on, put on, put on your best shoes… and do it with a smile so that no one knows it’s put on, put on, put on
so I should just be able to
breathe it’ll be okay
I already know the sting of betrayal so maybe that is why dignity matters to me truth is important to me and I find it hard to back down from my instincts since I said I’d never doubt them again
hold on to everything you know to be true don’t let the wolves get the best of you breathe
This slice is part of the 17th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol24 I’m slicing every day this month, for the 11th year! Wahoo!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I’m trying to be Still. But, my teacher brain got turned to max and I can’t really dial it down.
I don’t mean to be dramatic, but I’ve got to get organized I tell myself this every few minutes before remembering that I have no idea what I’m organizing for
Who knows where I’ll be who I’ll be what I’ll be how I’ll be but, still. I look at everything with my teacher eyes. I took a mini plastic magnifying glass off of a soap dispenser and kept it. Just in case I need a mini plastic magnifying glass in my classroom.
Still. I need to be still. I don’t know who I’m collecting things for. Speaking of things I don’t know – I should probably reread every teaching book I’ve read over the last 7 years with a new lens. I’m calling this lens, helping myself.
Can I be my own coach? To try, I will need to listen to myself stand by myself question myself advocate for myself stretch myself grow myself give myself grace
(And if you see me talking to myself, you’ll know why…)
I still have time Months actually 4 full months Still – Once the teacher dial has been dialed up, it’s really quite hard to dial it down and be still.
This slice is part of the 17th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol24 I’m slicing every day this month, for the 11th year! Wahoo!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
March is going out like a lion this year and I’m not talking about the weather
Two weeks ago someone asked me What’s your weather? and I said, it feels like a storm is brewing.
So maybe my new job should be fortune teller My crystal ball tells you whether your life will be this or that
Today at TJ Maxx we saw a card you are the teacher the world needs it said and we had to decide whether to laugh or cry
Whether your weather is outside or in lamb or lion we can only choose to March on
This slice is part of the 17th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol24 I’m slicing every day this month, for the 11th year! Wahoo!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
6-word Saturday goes quickly, thankful for Sunday
Haiku Chore filled Saturday Clean house, cold dog walk, Target Mind full of unknowns
Limerick There once was a mid career teacher Who wondered what decisions would reach her So much had been discussed She didn’t know what to trust Since trust was no longer her best feature
Rispetto Friday night, Saturday on the horizon Expectations for accomplishments, no less! Then Saturday dawns, reality flies in Do only priorities – no extra stress! It’s the weekend, you know you deserve to chill If you don’t take time to rest, you’ll soon get ill Vacuum, laundry? Sure. But, big projects can wait You need to rest, and wonder about your fate
Naani I wander the book aisle Stare at the titles Wonder Which books will I read to my class next year?
This slice is part of the 17th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol24 I’m slicing every day this month, for the 11th year! Wahoo!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I am thinking about my first year I taught second-grade in an old school building that looked like it was from a picture book
On the morning of the first day, I straightened pencil boxes one more time on the desks I had placed precisely I took a picture of the busses lined up outside, right before the kids got off I knew so little about second-grade Didn’t know what I didn’t know about teaching, kids, instructional strategies. . . the paper cutter (That year, I would go on to cut my own shirt more than one time on the paper cutter)
I wish I remembered how I learned their names What books we read The moment I realized they were mine.
Maybe it was when I typed their names on my first class list when the last student filed in and we had our first morning meeting the first time I said “my class,” to explain “I didn’t do that with my class yet.” “My class had extra recess.” “Oh, you know my class!” But sometime after I got the call that I had a job and months before I sobbed on the last day of school, those were my second-graders
I know, I know in a school – they are all Our kids I know this – I have hundreds of kids in my schools that are Ours and I love them
And, when you share a classroom with kids every day, know what math they are ready for next, which kids to put in which small group, who needs extra reminders or reassurances, or a special whiteboard marker what book to hand them from your library what they did over the weekend, their hopes and dreams and trials it’s okay if you think my kids
My first year my kids were chatty, sure – (I’d soon find out that most of my classes were chatty – the one constant being me. . . ) my kids were funny sweet hard-working good sports — watching me fumble through my first year
This slice is part of the 17th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol24 I’m slicing every day this month, for the 11th year! Wahoo!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
My friend gave me one of those mini printers and this weekend I played with it, trying the roll of sticker paper it has.
Did you hear me? I can make stickers! Of anything!
Here’s one I made of my dog:
Right away I started thinking about ways I could use it at school. I am sure there are ways I could use it as a coach, but I keep thinking about ways I’d use it back in the classroom. Imagine making conferring artifacts – quick pictures of anchor charts, notes we took together, or even a graphic organizer template. Maybe I could print pictures of student work to add to a small display. Have you seen those mini art galleries? I could use it to label things, of course. I could even make a quick positive note home and stick it to a student’s backpack! I feel like the possibilities are endless.
In my personal life, I am using it to print out funny memes and quotes and add them to a notebook. What is it that makes making a sticker, even with torn edges so special and fun?
I could start to print out funny things and stick them on my kids’ snacks. Or funny reminders stuck to random places.
There’s something very important that you need to know if you are on the fence about getting yourself a mini printer with sticker paper. Listen carefully. You might not realize this, but, if you get a text or email that makes you angry, it actually becomes kind of cute printed out all tiny.
This slice is part of the 17th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol24 I’m slicing every day this month, for the 11th year! Wahoo!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Freshman year of college I had a required math class Math 100 it was probably called Ugh, math I probably said I can’t do math
I recall it was an overview all the math I should have understood in high school algorithms, graphs, formulas… explained, connected, practiced in some magical way to make sense or maybe I was finally ready to learn
In third grade, I crossed the hall for my math class full of timed tests and feeling dumb because I can’t do math
I recall timers and disappointment things I should have memorized but didn’t, couldn’t turning my paper over to draw pictures and count 6×9 equaled 6 dots drawn 9 times Always on the first row every time the timer beeped
Sophomore year of college I started my math emphasis a special program for teachers who loved math and me I can’t do math
I recall 3 hours every Tuesday night for 3 years learning about conceptual math an entire semester on one problem about pretzels and lemonade I still got confused, lost in the step, turning myself in math circles one night the professor asked me to share my thinking and I said no I had been honest on my application: I was horrible at math. I’m worried about teaching math. I need to be a better math teacher for math students like me But 3 hours a week x 3 years equaled understanding that it’s okay to be confused, math is more than memorizing, and turning my paper over to draw 6 dots 9 times meant I actually could do math!
Student teaching in sixth grade advanced math full of sixth-graders with more math smarts than I will ever have
I recall I got really good at questioning listening, and saying things like pretend I don’t understand. How would you explain your thinking to me? which honestly, is a damn good math talk prompt
Decades later, I have taught a lot of students that they can do the math
(even if they have to turn their paper over, draw some dots and count)
This slice is part of the 17th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol24 I’m slicing every day this month, for the 11th year! Wahoo!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
The third-grade teacher starts writing by reminding the students of the work we have been doing with Literary Essay, and telling them how exciting it is that they are ready to lift the level of their work, trying it out with some of their favorite books. I’m ready to help her co-create the anchor chart with them while we do a class example using Because of Winn Dixie – she’s taking the lead in our co-teaching adventure.
“What are some things you remember about Because of Winn Dixie, or the character Opal?” She asks the kids, and they turn to talk together. As the chapter of turn and talk begins, we hear one voice rise above the others. This third-grader who used to stop me in the hall when she was in first grade just to tell me a joke, says clearly without a trace of sarcasm, “There. Was. A. Dog.”
. . .
Students are working on their graphic organizers, thinking about their favorite book and making claims about the character’s trait or change, or lesson learned in the book. This is hard work! I walk around leaning in, checking in, coaching in.
One student has written “wis(end.)”
“Oh!” I smile, “Are they wisened? Did they change to be wise at the end of the book?” I ask, thinking that maybe that word, wisened, could go in the character change part of the graphic organizer too.
“Yea,” he says. “In the beginning, he is just a clumsy mouse with sandals.”
…
At the next desk set, a third-grader is doing her work with the book Blended. I have seen this book before, but haven’t read it, and I think it has some complex themes.
She is working really hard, and thinks that maybe this character doesn’t change.
I know that books at this level almost always have some sort of character change, so I’m going to have to push her thinking a bit. I quickly scan the back cover, and flip through pages while I ask her a few questions.
“She is an optimist,” she tells me. “She’s an optimist and she stays an optimist. She still has to go back and forth to her parents’ houses at the end and she still doesn’t like that.”
“It sounds like she has a lot of hard things in her life.” I point to what I’m reading on the back of the book. “Sometimes in books like this, the change is really an inside change. Does her perspective change maybe?”
Suddenly she is writing, and I ask her a few more questions. I’m just so excited about the conversation!
I say something like “Does she learn anything along the way? Sometimes that can help us notice the way a character changed.”
She looks at me and tells me, “I’m writing the lesson now, and then I’ll write the change.”
She’s so polite, and it’s a good reminder that I need to close my mouth.
I tell her, “I’m so sorry. It’s okay to say, ‘Ms. Gabriel, stop asking me questions and distracting me!’”
She gives me a small smile and finishes her character’s lesson. I think she is going to say something like, “She learned that sometimes in life things are hard but you can do hard things.”
But nope. She writes, “The character learns that even though her parents are two different people, she can still be one.”
I ask to take a picture, because this is amazing, and then she works on her character change claim which she gets to more quickly, “The character changes from feeling like she’s two halves to feeling like she’s whole.”
This is one of many times during the day that I am reminded that kids can do so much. They are such capable, smart, amazing thinkers.
…
I turn to my next conference. She is working on trying to figure out Piggie in Elephant and Piggie: I’m a Frog.
This one is challenging in a different way, and we are discussing if Piggie really changes in this book.
She thinks maybe Piggie changes from upset to happy. She isn’t wrong, but I think it would be a stretch to write a literary essay about that character change.
I wonder what lesson she thinks Piggie learns in this books — since Piggie is the one who works to teach Elephant something about imagination. But, she says that Piggie learns that there is a negative part in everyone.
Again, she isn’t wrong. But, for the work of the essay, we talk about focusing on Elephant instead, who goes through a more evidenced change, learns a more specific lesson. She ends up taking notes on both characters.
…
The students are about to start cleaning up, and the teacher and I have a quick reflection.
This work is hard. Have they done enough choice reading this year to do this work? We had encouraged them to find one of each kind of claim: a trait, a change, and a lesson. But, we had also given them an open book choice. We remember that not all books have a character change.
We think, maybe that’s okay. All the kids can find a character trait to write about, and some of them can find a lesson learned, and a few of them can find a character change.
…
The students clean up their writing supplies, I say goodbye to the class, and walk out looking forward to our next time together.
This slice is part of the 17th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol24 I’m slicing every day this month, for the 11th year! Wahoo!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I walked into third-grade today still laughing from the morning announcement joke, which really set me up extra for finding so much joy with these amazing third-graders.
“Are you coming for Slice of Life?” One asked me, and I said “It breaks my heart to say no, but we are going to have fun doing more literary essay work!”
Another student stopped suddenly in front of me. “How did you get here already?” She said.
“It’s my Slice-of-Life spidey sense, I guess!” I told her, laughing.
They were finishing up their slice of life morning writing as I wandered around, talking to kids, seeing what they were writing about. I stopped at one boy’s desk. He wasn’t writing, instead he was clicking dates on a Chromebook calendar. Click. Click. Click. Click…
“Oooo!” I said. “Are you done with your slice of life? Can I see?”
“We aren’t supposed to share them.” He told me, and went back to his clicking.
I grinned. “Even with teachers?” I asked. Another student at his table explained that they share it with their teachers.
I laughed as I told the story to their teacher a minute later. And she laughed as she said, “I told them not to share the google presentation with people! I’m glad he was listening, but that’s a pretty literal way to take it.”
Soon the classroom was filling with the other third-grade class. We have been co-co-teaching with the three teachers and two classrooms for as many of the literary essay lessons as we can. (Can I call it co-co-teaching? I’d like to.)
The other class brought their books, folders and notebooks with them and as they got settled in, I was chatting with a few of them about their book selections. One student had two Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone books in front of her: A regular paperback, and the fancy illustrated edition.
“Oh! I love those illustrated versions!” I told her.
“I’ve read this,” she said as she pointed to the illustrated version. “But, not this.” She said, pointing to the paperback.
“They are the same book!” I assured her, smiling.
She was not convinced.
“Well,” I clarified, “they both have the same words.”
She looked at me with a critical eye and then started to compare the books page by page. She was a good investigator. She took a careful look at a few pages from throughout the story. I think she believed my theory, but there was something about her expression that made me feel like this had made her rethink so many things about life.
One of the teachers announced to her class, “Remember, we brought our supplies so we can use them later. So for now they should be on the carpet.”
One of her kids said dramatically, “One last hug!” And hugged his book before putting it on the carpet in front of him.
I laughed (again!) and then it was time for writing to start.
This slice is part of the 17th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol24 I’m slicing every day this month, for the 11th year! Wahoo!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
You know how when you Know better you Do better?
I’m just wonder if after that, knowing new stuff and doing that new better stuff…
What happens?
Because someone is sure to tell you to Know a New thing … Would doing that new thing be even better?
What if the new better thing is now actually the old thing you did before you knew better and did better?
I know what you want to tell me. It starts with an Re ends with a search
Okay! I’m in! Research …
That means we will be using peer-reviewed research for all the things, right?
On a Thought 