The Dos and Don'ts of the First Days of School

Funny story about this post.  I've been slowly working on it for a few days because I have a 2 year old and a newborn at home, so I haven't had a chance to just sit down and write for long enough to finish this.  Apparently Blogger wasn't fond of that, so when I went to publish it (after I finally finished), it reverted to an old version, which has been sitting on the internet for a week now.  THIS is now my correct draft.

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Well it's about that time again!  Time to exchange beach towels for backpacks. It's what the French call "la rentree".  Back to school!

This year will be my fifth year of teaching.  It's so hard to believe I'm at this point of my career that I can start considering myself at least a slightly seasoned educator.  As the years progress, I've learned quickly things to do and things not to do in order to start the year off as smoothly as possible.

THE DON'TS
1. DON'T  go over your rules, syllabus or classroom expectations on the first day of school.  Chances are your students are getting the same speech over and over again on the first day from other teachers and I guarantee you will blend in with everyone else.  Wait until at least day two, if not day three to do these things.

2. DON'T write your names into your grade book until the class change window closes.  I learned this the hard way my first year of teaching.  French 2 and 3 generally don't change simply because they already know they want the class.  But French 1 usually has at least 2-3 students add and 2-3 students drop.  For someone like me who likes a nice and neat grade book, all the crossing off and then students in the wrong order makes me CRAZY.

3. DON'T make a seating chart until at least 4-5 days into the school year.  Part of the reasoning is because of reasons given in #2 above: students come and go a lot as schedules fluctuate.  Another reason is because it is good training for you as the teacher in learning their names.  If you don't have a seating chart to rely on, you really learn their names more quickly!

4. DON'T spend more than one day getting your classroom ready.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE decorating my room and making it awesome.  However, there is no need to spend 20 hours decorating, making bulletin boards, etc.  Keep it simple to start.  You are better off devoting that time to making activities/lessons and preparing for the upcoming weeks.  You will thank yourself later.  I always plan and prep the entire first week before school even starts.


THE DOS
1. DO make a positive impression.  No, I'm not talking about being nice (which... yes... you should still do).  I'm talking about sticking out in a good way.  One thing I like to do with any class of students who have never had me before is let them interview me.  Their first homework assignment on the first night is to write down three questions of something they want to know about me.  Easy five points and easy way to start with an A.  Then I let them interview me.  Rather than just question/answer, I have them use whiteboards to guess my answer to each question.  The person who gets the most guesses right gets a prize.  The kids love it.

2. DO have them use French (or your target language) on the first day of school, even if it's simple "Hello, my name is ______.  What is your name?"

3. DO let them each choose a French name.  I'm always surprised when I get a transfer student from another school who didn't have a French name.  Students LOVE choosing their own names to fit their personalities.  It also gives them a quick first taste into French culture.  I always use it to draw similarities between English and French names, like Peter = Pierre for example.

4. DO devote at least 30-40 minutes to letting the students acclimate themselves to your room on the first day or two.  This can be done via a scavenger hunt, fill in map, or clues.  I always like to ask random questions that can be answered by exploring the room.  For example: What page of the dictionary can you find out how to say "house" in French? This has them locating dictionaries and getting practice in using one.  Another example question may ask what the three folders are labeled on the table.


5. DO create a list of classroom expectations together before giving out your syllabus or going over your expectations.  I have always found that students are more receptive to the rules and being productive when they help come up with the rules.  Every year I like to have students brainstorm things that a good teacher will do and things a good student will do.  Then we compile a list together.  I take each class's list and compile it into one large list that is displayed all year.  Then, when a student is misbehaving, I can ask them, "based on our list, are you being a good student right now?"  By also making teacher expectations (and displaying them by student expectations), they see that I am also serious about being a good teacher and will strive to uphold those traits.



Have any other helpful tips?  Feel free to share below!  I wish you all a great start to a successful school year!

photo from thegreatexposition.com

Subjunctive/Indicative Sentence Puzzles

I am currently wrapping up the subjunctive unit with my French 3s, which resolves with being able to know when to use subjunctive vs indicative and how to form said sentences.  About half of my kids get it but the other half still don't understand one part or another.  Some will use the subjunctive even in the trigger phrases (je sois content que tu fasses les devoirs) or don't even get that they have to conjugate those trigger phrases (nous adorer que tu fasses les devoirs).  Others still don't know when to use subjunctive or indicative after the "que" despite having some very clear note sheets on which phrases are subjunctive triggers and which are indicative.

I decided to do an activity with the entire class this morning that really seemed to help it click for the students who were still on the fence.  What I did was I typed up 15 different trigger phrases and 15 different sentence endings.  I cut up the slips and put them in two separate envelopes.  I then wrote SUBJUNCTIVE on one side of the board and INDICATIVE on the other and split it with a line.  Each student picked a slip from each envelope and had to put the sentence together.  Depending on the two subjects or the specific trigger phrase, they had to figure out if it was a subjunctive or indicative sentence and form it accordingly.  Then, once they were done, they wrote their sentence on the board in the correct category.  Once everyone wrote their sentence, we went over them as a class and corrected any errors together.  We were only able to do a couple rounds (it took my 12 person class about 7-8 minutes per round) but it was great to be able to put this stuff together for them.

This was a really fun activity, especially because the possible combinations could potentially be really silly.  The kids really enjoyed it and it definitely helped those who were struggling.

If you would like a free copy of the sentence pieces, CLICK HERE.  It is also part of a bigger subjunctive unit bundle I have on TPT... CLICK HERE to access it.

Why my Grades are Weighted 80:20... and Why Yours Should Be Too!

I remember the first time I heard about 80:20 grading.  It was my second year of teaching (first year in my current district) at an institute day.  The presenter we had to go to during a session talked about the benefits of 80:20 grading.  I was baffled at the concept.  Tests/projects worth 80 percent of a student's grade?!  Kids will fail miserably! Kids who used to get A's will now get C's!  What about kids who do poorly on tests but know the material?!  The list of arguments went on.

It wasn't until last year that I realized how much more accurate this grading system could be in assessing a student's grade.  In my old system, as long as you did your homework on time and did ok on tests, you literally could not fail my class.  This made it difficult for me to make recommendations that students repeat a level of French.  "Well if Suzie is getting a C, then obviously she deserves to move on!"

For anyone reading who is still confused as to what 80:20 is, allow me to explain.  Your students' grades have only two categories: summative assessment and formative  assessment.  Anything that fits into the summative assessment category (tests, big quizzes, end of unit projects, etc) are worth 80% of their grade.  The other 20% is formative assessment (day to day work like homework, mid-unit projects, small quizzes, classwork, etc). 

I decided to do a test run of 80:20 during fourth quarter last year and it worked REALLY well.  I also implemented a new test retake policy that really complemented the 80:20 policy well.  Yes students should be learning the material when its taught to them and be prepared for any test.  But, like mentioned above, students can have off days, they may not have gotten the material 100%, the format may have been confusing to them, etc.  I changed my policy to allow retakes, however students needed to prove to me they were truly learning the material.  After all, the whole purpose of 80:20 is to accurately portray what the student knows how to do, right?

My new policy was simple.  They had until the end of the quarter to retake any tests from that quarter, and they had to fill out an intensive retake form (CLICK HERE to check it out and feel free to use it for yourself).  Part of the retake form is doing extra work to practice what they had a hard time with.  I will not allow them to even schedule the retake until this whole form is completed.  With this policy, students really only were able to retake if they could prove to me they learned the material a little bit better.  They often love to kill two birds with one stone and meet with me to go over and correct their errors. 

Once I implemented this system, I've noticed how accurate grades are to what students are able to do.  Students who really didn't get it were getting Ds and Fs. Students who got it were getting As and Bs.  Their grade was a reflection of their knowledge, not of their ability to turn in work on time.  That's what summative assessment does: it measures your knowledge of the topic.  By making a grade worth that much, it truly reflects their knowledge.  The retake option is nice for two reasons.  Firstly, it encourages them to actually take the time to get help or try again if they didn't get it.  Secondly, it keeps parents from freaking out at me that their child is doing poorly in class.  If their grade is in the dumps, I always tell parents that their student has the option to retake tests and improve their grade.  Once again, the ball is in the student's court (which is how I like it).

photo from uhstitans.com

The Consequences of Rewards for "Good Behavior" in the Classroom

Every teacher has had this student... likely more than once.  The student who, for whatever reason, cannot follow directions, cannot stop being disruptive, cannot do their homework, and/or cannot meet the expectations of the classroom.  I have one of those right now and I will admit my patience level regarding him is pretty much maxed out.  I approached some colleagues for some suggestions in how to handle him, because in the 7 quarters I have had him as a student, nothing has worked.. and I've tried just about everything.  One of the responses I got was to reward him for a day or multiple days of cutting out his negative behaviors.  While I totally see how this can appeal to many teachers, I absolutely refuse to employ tactics like this.

It may sound harsh, but hear me out.

Every year, students get more and more lazy.  More and more entitled.  More and more disruptive.  As teachers, we are faced with the brunt of it and see the repercussions of it in our classrooms which makes for a very difficult learning environment.  It's easy to see the appeal of rewarding students for staying on task, doing their homework, and generally making our lives a little more peaceful.

But why should we reward expected behavior?  When we give them rewards for doing these things, one of two things are happening.  Either we have lowered our expectations so much that we no longer expect students to be respectful and hard working or we are training students (especially the irresponsible ones) to expect a gold star at the end of every day that they meet expectations.  Possibly it's a combination of both at this point.  Can you imagine a student going into the work force after graduation and expecting praise every time they show up to work on time and complete their job tasks?  Just because a student has bad behavior doesn't mean we should reward them on days that they do what is expected of every other student around them.  We are creating a generation of students who expect praise for every little thing and it is going to come back and bite us some day.  It really lowers the bar of excellence and makes someone unwilling to do what is expected of them if they aren't going to be rewarded for it.

Some may argue that just functioning for class is above and beyond expected behavior for some students.  Maybe that is true.  But when we reward specific/troubled students for behavior we expect out of any other students, we start going down a slippery slope and setting a bad example.  It shows students that if they are normally difficult to handle, then they can get rewards every so often for just cooperating.  I've noticed in our current system, the students with habitual negative behaviors get rewarded more often than students who aren't any trouble.  How twisted is that?  It's a classic case of squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? 

If we don't want any more "squeaky wheels", we need to stop rewarding them every time they metaphorically put a little oil on and don't make noise for a few hours.  We are doing students with behavioral issues a MAJOR disservice when we continue to reward them for something they should be doing to begin with.  If a student repeatedly falls short of your expectations, then raise your expectations.  Maybe then they will raise up to a level that is acceptable.

Putting the Break Back in Spring Break

It's the Friday before Spring Break.  The anticipation of 2:55 is practically making you drool.  You imagine all of the things you will be doing next week, including a mini vacation to somewhere warm and relaxing with a drink in your hand.

Then it hits you. The e-mail from your principal:

"The School Board has implemented a new policy that all teachers must spend at least three hours over their break doing prep work.  It will be built into your contract time."

We'd be livid right?  Hell would be raised, the protests would be heard everywhere.

So why do we do this to our students?

Many of us don't.  But I was utterly shocked hearing from students the amount of homework they were assigned on Friday (the day before break) that would be due the day they came back from school.  One talked about a project that would easily take her a few hours.  Another talked about book work and worksheets.  I'm not talking a normal night's worth of homework.. I'm talking a solid 4-5 hours minimum of work they'd have to do homework over break.

Spring Break is a very important week for schools.  It gives students and staff time to recharge and be ready to tackle the last 10 ish weeks of school left.  So instead of looking at it as a "more time for kids to do homework" week, look at it as "time to get well rested mentally and physically to get back to work when they come back" week.

Don't assign homework over break.  Put the break back in Spring Break.  We'd be mad if we were expected to work over break (many of us do anyway to catch up)...why would we expect them to?

Photo from katimorton.com

The Binder

I was reminded early this morning that I have another organizational tool that I have not shared with you all.  It goes perfectly in my space with the class folders and clipboards.  This is my extra copies binder.  It sounds so trivial, but once again, this is another tool that has saved me so much time and headache.

Every time I run copies of anything homework or notes related, I make extra copies and put it in the binder.  I've found that take 8-10% of your class (maybe more if it's notes over a longer unit) is the perfect amount.  My class of 31 gets 3 extra copies in their space. 

This is great because if a student needs a copy of notes or lost their copy of homework, they can go over to the binder and get it without having to ask me.  I don't have a printer in my room so it saves me from having to quick run down to the printer or writing myself a note to remember to make X copy for so-and-so.

I have the binder divided by level.  I also have a few extra sections of stuff: empty foldables, retake forms, etc.  Every quarter I remove any white papers (all of my notes are colored, so I like to keep those in there) to clean it out. 

This works really well! The only time kids have to ask me for something is if all of the copies are gone out of the binder. With it being only a binder too, it doesn't take up a lot of space.

Passe Compose Lego Activity

The passe compose is always one of the trickiest things to teach (and learn!) in French.  I always take it VERY slowly, one chunk at a time until we get through it all.  We started in October and are just now wrapping up all three together.

My students did fairly well one chunk at a time, but once it came down to not only remembering which category you were in (avoir, VANDERTRAMPP or reflexive) but what pieces you need for each category, things started getting messy.  They were adding reflexive pronouns to VANDERTRAMPPs, agreement to avoir, it was just a huge mess.

To help them work through this, I decided to take them back to the building blocks of each type, quite literally.  Courtesy of my son, each group was given big plastic legos.  I labeled the legos in advance and each group received: subject, avoir/etre, reflexive pronoun, past participle and agreement.  I used tape on each one so I could write those categories in permanent marker on the legos without ruining them.  Then, around the room, I put cards with a subject and a verb.  Their task was twofold.  First, they had to figure out which category of verb it was in the passe compose.  Then, they had to get the right lego pieces and write the corresponding word on the lego piece with dry erase marker (this works awesome..wipes right off).   Once they did this, then they could write out their full answer on the sheet by putting the pieces together.  They could check their answer by lifting the card.  The answer revealed was the "pieces" they would have done as well as the full written out answer.

It seemed silly to me, but they really enjoyed it.  It got them thinking about the different parts of forming the past tense depending on category and it helped them to visualize how it all goes together.

In hindsight, I wish I had done it as we learned each type as well, not just when putting all three together.  Definitely something to do next year!

9 Websites that do the Work for You

Every time I come across a useful tool for making my job easier, I bookmark it.  As teachers, we rarely have time to eat lunch, let alone make complicated puzzles and other things.  To make life even easier for everyone else, I have decided to compile a list of said links.  Most are applicable to any content area, but a few are language specific.  What do they all have in common? They do most of the work for you while still letting you personalize the content.

1. Crossword Puzzle Maker

2. Random Number Generator

3. Stopwatch- the bonus to this one is it can automatically repeat and make sounds.. great for stations

4. Family Tree Maker- great for laying out a family tree when teaching that vocabulary

5. Word Cloud Maker

6. Word Search Maker

7. Clock Face Generator

8. Word Scramble Generator

9. QR Code Generator Template- this is one of my FAVORITES

photo from: www.thecne.org

Barbie VANDERTRAMPP Story

One of the hardest things about teaching the past tense is helping the kids to remember which verbs are the VANDERTRAMPP verbs that use etre to form the past tense instead of avoir.  This method was taught to me in high school (so I cannot take credit for it), but it works so well that I feel the need to pass it on to the rest of my readers!

There is a story about Barbie and Ken that uses each of the 17 VANDERTRAMPP verbs.  It escalates quickly and is slightly morbid (which.. you need mourir in there right?) but it always seems to work for the kids.

When I was in high school, we were required to memorize the story.  That method worked well, but who has the time to tell themselves the story as they are trying to remember whether to use etre or avoir to form the past tense of a verb?  I've done a few different methods with the story.  My favorite is having pairs of students illustrate the story.  This helps them to visualize each verb as it "happened" and then they tell the story to the class like a storybook.  We also just say the story together every so often to solidify it into their heads.  I've also done activities where I remove the verbs (after they know it) and the first person to get them all in correctly wins.

Feel free to use it for your class!

Un jour, Barbie est née.  Elle est venue au monde avec un BANG.  Elle est devenue belle femme et Ken est tombé amoureux d’elle.  Un jour, il est revenu la voir et ils sont restés ensemble.  Ce soir-là, ils sont allés chez elle.  Ils sont descendus à la cave, mais il est tombé.  Alors, Barbie est sortie chercher de l’aide.  Elle est revenue avec une ambulance.  Ils sont arrivés à huit heures chez elle, mais ils sont entrés assez tard parce que l’ambulance est passée par (INSERT CITY HERE) en venant de (INSERT CITY HERE).  Ils sont partis rapidement de la maison, mais Ken était dans une condition critique.  Alors, ils sont rentrés trop vite et ils sont montés dans un arbre.  Et c’est comme ça qu’ils sont morts.  Quel dommage.

Photo from: nandabezerra.com

An Open Letter to my State's Governor

I found something out today that I cannot get out of my head.  I found out that you will be proposing another track of teacher licensing.  In your proposal a person with "real-life experience" (no clue what you mean by that) can take an exam, pass it and *POOF* have their teaching license.

Let me set the record straight that I have voted for you every single time you have come up on the ballot.  I know that I am in a VERY small percentage of teachers who have done so.  I know many in our state criticize you for what you've done to education.  I will say that I don't think it's your strong suit, but there are other things that I greatly agree with you on, so I've supported you.  I even supported you when you required teachers to chip in a bit for benefits.  How you went about it wasn't the best, but considering our benefits are amazing compared to the private sector, I was okay with chipping in a bit for said benefits. 

But this is a new low.  This is offensive to me.  This is a slap in the face.  Your proposal proves to me that you have ZERO idea what it takes to be a good educator.  Of course subject matter knowledge is important as a teacher.  But guess what.  Of the ten teaching standards of our state, only ONE addresses subject matter knowledge.  The other nine are learned through a combination of teacher education training and teaching experience.  There are a couple of those nine that can also be partly learned in life, but I can tell you not everyone possesses those skills.

Your proposal belittles my education and my experience.  When I went to college to be a French teacher, I not only had to major in French, but I had to go through the education classes as well.  I took classes that taught me how to meet the other nine teaching standards.  One specific class was so crucial to my education that it was specifically geared toward aspiring foreign language teachers.  It also makes no mention of student teaching.  That semester taught me more than the other 3 1/2 years of college.  I know I speak for every teacher when I say I was nowhere near ready to teach on my own the first day of student teaching.  Student teaching is a crucial part of the teacher education process.

Teaching ability is a gift.  I will not pretend that everyone who goes through the education program will be an awesome teacher and I will not pretend that nobody can be a good teacher without going through the education program.  Some just have it and some just don't.  But I am not comfortable with the future of our state or even our nation to be put into the hands of someone who cannot tell me what an IEP is and why it's so important.  I am not comfortable with someone teaching our youth who has zero grasp of the different socioeconomic and behavioral factors that can make or break a student's ability or desire to learn.  I know many people who could even be considered experts in their field that would drown in today's classrooms.

Please do not move forward with your proposal.  I implore you.  Education is the most important tool we can give students and you are cheating them by letting anyone just pass a simple content test in order to teach.  There is already so little respect toward teachers as it is.  Please don't add more disrespect by making it even easier to get a teaching license.  We should be investing in finding the very best teachers, not handing out a license to just anyone.  Teaching IS and should be considered an elite, distinguished and respected profession.


Respectfully,
A teacher who easily has another 35 years before retirement, therefore another 35 years to make one heck of a difference in this world.

image from test.com