Elementary Matters is an educational blog focused on Elementary grades 1-3. These posts will make an elementary teacher's life easier by sharing information about how the brain learns best. It includes time savers, suggestions for classroom management, hints on effective teaching of reading, writing, and math, and several ideas for squeezing Science and Social Studies into daily instruction. These posts include links to several videos, articles, resources, and plenty of free materials.
A Proper Farewell
Since our school is K - 5, we get ready to say goodbye to our fifth graders. Just before it's time to leave, all K - 4 students and teachers line the hallways. We do collect quite a few parents as well. When everyone is in place, the fifth grade teachers walk their students down the hall for the very last time. We give them plenty of applause. After all, they worked hard for their 6 years at our school, they deserve the applause. Many are emotional. They know this is a place where they were loved. Who knows what will happen when they get to middle school?
After the fifth graders have made their final walk, all the other classes walk down the hallway for the final time of the year. Everyone goes out to wave goodbye. None of the buses leave until everyone is ready. The children hang out the window waving, many are crying. They are chanting all the naughty chants they know they shouldn't do, but can get away with on the last day. Finally, the buses start to drive away, with the bus drivers beeping, the kids chanting, the teachers waving. It's a little crazy, but it's definitely a happy/ sad/ sentimental time for us all!
I've been teaching in this school for 27 years now, and we've had our "Grade Five Send Off" for close to 20 of those years. I can honestly say I haven't had one "Grade Five Send Off" where I wasn't in tears.
One nice thing about being a teacher in the lower grades is that you get to watch the kids grow up, even when they are no longer in your class. By the time they make that final walk down the hall, most of them are taller than I am, and have grown in many ways! It's hard to say goodbye.
I also find it's hard to say goodbye to their families as well. After all, by the end of 5th grade, I've known them for 4 years! If I've had siblings, I've known them longer than that!
I'm lucky to work where I work!
What's your last day of school like?
Learn About the World with Flat Stanley!
My students learned about Flat Stanley this year!
It's a great project. We send tagboard copies of Flat Stanley home, and the families either take Stanley someplace, or they send him to someone somewhere in the world.
In case you've never heard the story, Flat Stanley had a bulletin board fall on him. He wasn't hurt at all, but ended up quite flat. Luckily for us, he was flat enough to put himself in an envelope and send himself anywhere he wants!
Children can make their own Flat Stanley, and send him to various places around the globe. I've seen pictures of Flat Stanley near a variety of landmarks with a variety of famous people. In fact, I've even seen Flat Stanley with the President and on the Golden Gate Bridge!
So we made our Flat Stanleys and sent them out. Stanley was due back in town by June 1st, so we started sharing stories Friday during Social Studies.
It was a great project. Children came back with pictures and notes from Stanley from a variety of places. Flat Stanley has been fishing in the Adirondacks, playing in North Carolina, touring in Disney, even exploring forts in Puerto Rico! We haven't seen all the responses yet, as we just started sharing on Friday, but there are a few more to share on Monday, and I suspect there are a few more coming in. (Rumor has it Stanley was seen somewhere in Asia, and was running late for our June 1st deadline!)
Being the reflective person that I am, I've been wondering how I can make the project better for next year. I started by retyping the letter I used. I added more information and attached a website with samples, ideas, and activities for the kids. I made a point to mention that this was a geography project, which I neglected the first time, and it let to a couple of "mystery adventures." Luckily, we solved the mysteries. I've attached the letter with blanks for you to fill in as a freebie here or see the image below.
Be sure to visit this website (www.flatstanleybooks.com/) to learn more about what you can do with Flat Stanley. You can even download your own Flat Stanley from this website! Plus, there are plenty of great photos of Flat Stanley. All images of Flat Stanley books on this page are affiliate links to Amazon.
Enjoy!
When Bad Things Happen, Make Lemonade!
I felt a tingling in my left arm while I was in the shower. At first I thought I might be having a heart attack, since one of the symptoms is tingling in the left arm. So naturally I did what any mother would do. I quietly got out of the shower and got dressed. My biggest fear was embarrassing my teenage daughter by being naked when the EMTs arrived. When I started walking around, I noticed my left leg was also tingling.
I really didn't want to go to the hospital, since it was Saturday of the holiday weekend. But finally, I realized that tingling wasn't going away, so I went.
It's a good thing I went. I was there for hours, drifting in and out of sleep. They gave me all the necessary tests, and sent me off in the wee hours. It wasn't until about a week later that I realized that tingling was pretty much on my entire left side... my scalp and my torso in addition to my arm and leg. It was the most intense in my arm and leg.
I went back to school a week later for the last 2 weeks of school marathon. Somehow I had to pack my room, yet I was so tired I couldn't see straight, and I'd lost control of much of my left side. Lifting heavy boxes wasn't an option, yet I got very little help packing my classroom. I do remember falling off my ladder hard, which is probably what messed up my alignment, but I didn't find that out for another year. I did something nasty to my shoulder which makes it pretty useless for anything more than 5 pounds.
It wasn't for a couple of months that I realized the full impact of the stroke. I went to occupational and physical therapy to develop the muscles in my arm and hand that weren't working, and work to restore my balance. I had gone as far as they could bring me on the OT, but the insurance was withdrawn before I could "graduate" from the PT.
I think one of the toughest things is that I "look fine". That may sound silly, but I think if I were looking less than fine some of my colleagues might be a tad more compassionate.
Two years later: I still struggle with fatigue. It's gotten better than it was when I first had the stroke, but I still have trouble making it through the day, and I'm useless on evenings and weekends. I still struggle with my left arm with things like opening water bottles, ATMs, and holding onto things. I still have trouble with balance. I'm OK if I'm on a flat surface and I can watch where I'm going. That's not always easy while teaching second graders. I still have trouble lifting things, too. Much of the tingling is gone, but it's still there, especially in my arm and leg. I try to give the illusion that I'm fine, because I just don't like to be pitied or treated like I'm less than whole. But the fact is, I'm far less than what I was before the stroke.
The bad news? After 2 years, I've probably progressed about as far as I can go. I've known all along that the further away from the stroke, the less chance of getting those skills back.
But, I've chosen to make lemonade out of this. Luckily, my daughter is off in college now, so I'm back to living alone. It sounds terribly lonely, but it's not at all. It's just less responsibility after school. I like that! I do minimal cooking and cleaning during the week, since I'm usually far too tired, especially as it gets near the weekend.
So I had to take up a hobby that didn't need me to be up and walking around. (Or dancing... like my previous hobby of musical theatre!) So I took up blogging!
In a way, I feel like blogging has given me back my life! It gives me something to look forward to every day when I drag myself out of school. I try to finish all my work at school so I'll be free and can blog, pin, tweet, and post on my facebook page. I spend a lot of time at my laptop, reading about brain research, and making materials to help students learn. It's a good life!
Pay it Forward for Evan
Evan in the musical Chicago. My daughter is in the foreground. |
Evan had just finished his freshman year in college and was on an archaeological dig in Scotland when he collapsed. Attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the local hospital.
I am stunned by this event. Not only because it's a local kid, but because I knew the family. Evan's dad teaches Social Studies in my school district. Evan's mom is my acupuncturist. (I had a stroke in 2010, and acupuncture has been an amazing help in my recovery.) Evan and his twin brother were friends with my daughter, and graduated from high school together in 2011. Evan and my daughter starred in the school's musical, Chicago, last spring.
My whole body aches for Evan's family. Having a daughter the same age, I just don't know how anyone can deal with the loss of a child.
I ache for his brother. The boys were twins and rarely left each others' sides until college.
Evan's Dad, the Social Studies teacher at our local high school asked people to Find a way to "Pay Something Forward" in Evan's honor. I recently posted this end of the year Social Studies review Scoot game on Teachers Pay Teachers. I thought, in honor of Evan's memory, I would offer this item for free to teachers who will Pay it Forward in honor of a great young man.
See THIS LINK to obtain the Social Studies Review Task Cards free, in honor of Evan. Of course, this means you will Pay it Forward in some way to honor Evan.
Thanks so much!
Memorial Day: A Day To Remember
Memorial Day in America is a day to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom.
When I grew up, Patriotism was strong in this country.
Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, have a steak, or a hot dog, or even a veggie burger, but don't forget to remember the reason for the holiday, and that FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!
10 Strategies for Surviving Until Summer
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Syllables... and Then Some
Did you know there were 6 kinds of syllables?
Here are the six kinds of syllables:
- Closed Syllable - These are short vowels followed by a consonant, such as num in number, or vel in velvet.
- Vowel Consonant e Syllable - This is your classic long vowel/ silent e pattern such as ade in parade or cide in decide.
- Open Syllable - These are long vowel syllables that end with the vowel such as ta in table and spi in spider.
- Consonant l e Syllable - These are at the ends of words like ble in table and tle in little.
- R- Controlled Syllable - These have an r controlled vowel such as gar in garden and der in under.
- Vowel Digraph/ Diphthong "D" Syllable - These contain a diphthong or a vowel diagraph. (Sometimes called "vowel teams") Examples are thou as in thousand and poi as in poison.
Want to read more about syllables?
- Six Syllable Types on Reading Rockets was co-written by my instructor of the LETRS training, so it's got to be quality information! (And interesting, too!)
- Vocabulary.co.il has a couple of syllable games and videos for the kids.
Learning Math Facts With Cuisenaire Rods
Brain Research tells us that being physically involved with the learning process helps learning happen.
It also suggests that the use of color helps make connections.
Teachers know that kids (and adults) tend to key into color, and children love to use manipulatives!
Click the image or click here for the sample: Fact Families with Cuisenaire Rods Sample!