How am I Doing?

Every "report card" time, kids will undoubtedly ask, "how am I doing?"

Of course, it's great that they care about their achievement, but seriously, they're in school every day doing the work. They're in class, participating and engaging in work all the time. So, shouldn't they already know how they're doing?

What do you think? Yes, report cards are all about reporting to their parents. They have a right to know how their child is doing. They see the children through homework, encourage them to do well, and want to know about their child's successes! 

This post isn't about report cards and reporting to parents.

It's about giving feedback to the children every single day!

Brain research tells us that frequent feedback is essential to learning. 

A good place to start is making sure every child knows their strengths!

 

I believe in encouraging children every time you see them doing something right. It could be ANYTHING they do well. Here are some examples:

• staying organized
• smiling at classmates
• participating in group discussions
• greeting classmates when they arrive
• positive attitude
• listening
• following directions
  
• getting to work right away
• following rules
• working independently
  
• staying focused
• helping classmates
• helping teacher 
• putting forth effort
• showing growth
  

In fact, this information should be made public. Everyone in the class should know who is good at knowing math facts, and who is good at following directions. All students should know who they can turn to for figuring out an unknown word, solving a math problem, where to find extra supplies, or sketching a cat for their journal. This is all part of the teamwork. And I'm sure you'll agree, all children have strengths!

All children also have areas that need improvement, don't they? The only way they will improve in these areas is if they are aware of their weaknesses and put in the effort to improve them. I prefer to think of these as "skills the child is working on," rather than weaknesses. It's just a bit kinder!

Although the whole world should know the strengths of your students, the opposite is most definitely NOT true!

 

I schedule meetings with individuals every so often. How do I find the time? I meet with individuals instead of reading groups for a couple of days. (See THIS POST to see how I organize this!) I spend a few minutes with each child, and honestly, those few minutes make a world of difference and are totally worth missing a reading group or two!

I use a 2-1-1 strategy! I start with 2 statements about what the child is doing well. These can be about ANYTHING the child is doing in school, as long as it's honest praise. (See THIS POST about giving honest feedback!) 

After the happy celebration, I mention (carefully) one thing the child needs to work on. They usually know, and agree they need to work on this. 

Wanting to leave the conversation with a positive note, I'll mention one more thing the child does well. This doesn't have to be academic, just a little something to keep the conversation upbeat. Quite often, it's something like, "I'm glad you're in my class!"

You've probably already spent a lot of time building relationships with your students, and these personal conversations should simply amplify these relationships. Of course, make sure it ends with a smile!

How do you keep the children informed about their progress?

Seven Ways to Be the Teacher They'll Remember

I'll bet you have a teacher you remember from your own education. If you're anything like me, you want to be that teacher for your own students. Here are some suggestions!

Get to know them individually!

Each child has a special personality, special interests, and special families that love them. Getting to know all those parts to each child is no easy task. I find having a Morning Meeting sharing time helps getting to know them. I also have an end-of-the-day "High-Low" meeting (See THIS post and THIS post.) I also find that having private conversations, when possible, is also a great way to know them as individuals.
 

Let them get to know you!

Tell stories about yourself and your loved ones when you can fit it in. I always share at Morning Meeting as well as High-Low. I also share connections that I have with books we read and things we are learning. They particularly love when I tell about my cat!

Let them know you care!

I never miss an opportunity to let them know that I care. If someone is absent, that's my low of the day. If someone arrives late for class, I'll stop everything and let them know how glad I am to have them there. If someone is upset or hurt, I make it clear that it upsets and hurts me as well.

You may have heard it said before: they won't learn anything from you unless they know you care!
 

Be their biggest cheerleader!

Feedback is always important in the classroom. Most of the time, it should be positive. For some struggling students, that's not always easy, but I've found there's always something the child is doing well. Find that thing, and celebrate it! It doesn't even have to be academically related, but I'm sure there are plenty of those! Just a warning: not everyone wants to be singled out. Know these students, and be a private cheerleader for them. (Most students love getting notes celebrating their accomplishments!) This all reflects back to #1: Get to Know Each Child Individually!
 

Do fun things!

I'm sure you're already doing this one, along with most of the others! (Teachers who read educational blogs are always trying to make themselves better, agreed?) You probably already have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, but here are a few suggestions. 

• Do STEM/ STEAM projects!
• Play educational games!
• Bring "Team Building" games into Morning Meeting. (Some ideas HERE!)
  
• Include art projects and crafts!
• Find a super fun way to present research projects!
• Have them create puppets and put on shows!
  
• Have an "Author's Night!"
  
• Record and videotape educational activities! (Be careful who has access to this, of course!)
  
• Do a class play!

This last suggestion is near and dear to my heart. Why? Well, not only because I enjoy performing in regional theatre myself, but also because of the excitement! Brain research tells us that memories are very much connected to emotions! (See THIS post for more information!) Whenever students come back to visit, they always mention the plays and performances we shared. Such a shared experience is also great for building teamwork and community! (Want some scripts? Try THESE, or if you want something curriculum related, try THIS!)

Keep a safe classroom!

We've all heard "Maslow's Before Blooms," and I truly believe this matters.

As classroom teachers, we probably won't be able to reach all these levels, but the very basic needs are essential before any learning is going to happen! If they don't feel healthy and safe (Physiological Needs and Safety Needs), we might as well just toss the curriculum out the window. That third level, Love and Belonging, is one we can work on as well! Again, Morning Meetings are great for building community and making each child feel like an important member of the classroom!

Be a role model

This is more of a responsibility as much as a suggestion. If the children remember you, you want that memory to be inspiring. Some suggestions:

• Let them see you getting emotional when you read books.
• Let them see you making mistakes, and responding appropriately.
• Talk about something that bothered you, and what you did about it.
• Let them see you showing kindness and respect to the other students as well as other adults in the school.
• Write thank you cards for gifts they give.
• Let them see you taking care of your health. Talk about the exercising you do and the healthy food you prepare.
• Be a good listener.
• Talk about how you stay organized.
• Let them see you doing things you don't necessarily want to do... with a smile.
• Be positive, even when times are tough.
• Always say please, thank you, and all those other magic words!
• Think out loud. Let them know the reasons for your actions.
• Show extra respect to all the extra helpers in the building: secretaries, custodians, kitchen workers, and assistants. Let the children see that you appreciate what they do for your students.
  

 

 

Five Hints to Help Avoid False Praise and Give Valuable Feedback

How do you feel about false praise? 

You know, when someone tells you that you've done a great job, when in your heart, you know you haven't?

 

 

One time, I was working hard with an exercise video when the instructor said, "Great job!"  I remember thinking... how does she know I'm doing a great job? I could be sitting here eating a bowl of potato chips, and that's not doing a good job!

I've also had people compliment me on things that I know weren't my best work. How do I feel about it?

Well, honestly, it makes me lose my trust in that person. And it frustrates me. I'm sure your students feel the same way. 

Students absolutely need feedback, and they need to develop self worth. But false praise is NOT the way to get there! 

Here are a few suggestions for avoiding praise and giving feedback that matters:

 

 

 1. Know your students! It's important that you know your students. Not only academically, but personally. Know what they feel good about and what they're sensitive about.

 

 2. Follow the "2 to 1" rule! This means, two compliments and one "you need to work on" item. Of course you wouldn't just say, "great job" or "you're awesome." Make sure they are genuine compliments, which shouldn't be tough to find. As long as you see any effort at all, that can be one of your compliments. It's also important that you always give them something specific to work on.

 

 3. Make sure your students know you! Let them know about the things you struggle with as well as your successes. When you make mistakes, let them see you model correcting mistakes. When you struggle with something, let them see you processing your way through the struggle.

4. Make sure your students trust you! This tip goes right along with #3, making sure they know you, but it goes beyond knowledge. Trust is something that must be earned, so this won't happen the first weeks of school. By the time the initial "get to know you" period is done, the students should absolutely know you can be trusted.

 

 5. Always, always, always be honest! If you tell the students they're good at something, and they know they're not, you've lost their trust. When you give information about something they need to work on, and it's honest, you'll gain their trust. And that's more valuable than anything!

Since feedback is such a valuable part of learning, I've written several other blog posts about feedback. Here are some links.

Giving Feedback!

 

 

Five Useful Tips and Tricks!

 

 

Give 'em a Shout Out!

 

The Importance of Failure

 

 

Ten Classroom Management Tips With the Brain in Mind

No Bathroom Comments!

Quick, Easy, Honest Feedback

 What kind of praise do you give in the classroom?

How do you keep it honest and genuine?

What to do with All Those Papers!

No matter how we go about it, there are always papers at the end of the day. Once they're all corrected, what do you do with them all?

I used to give them back at the end of the day, but I found they'd get lost in backpacks. The kids wouldn't even look at them, and they'd never get home to be seen by families.

Then I decided to file them, and send the paperwork home in an envelope once a week. 

The work got home successfully! The parents got to see it and anticipated the work coming home every Wednesday!

But then, the kids never got to see their own work! 

That means they never got feedback on their written work!

We all know feedback is what feeds learning. 

If the children don't know if they've done well, how do they know to keep doing it?

If the children don't know they've made mistakes, how do they know to stop doing that?

Here's how it's organized: 

 

1.  I write notes on the children's papers, letting them know what they're doing well, or what they need to fix. (Gently, of course!)

2. They find the previous day's papers on their desk in the morning. They take a few minutes to look them over and see their feedback.

 

 

3. They file their own papers to be saved for the week.

4. Those papers are sent home weekly in an envelope for the parents to see.

 

What do you do with student papers when you're done correcting?

Give 'em a Shout Out!

Do you have kids that do things well, and deserve attention for it? 

Do you have things you're looking for in the kids' work, that you want to emphasize?

Do you want to draw attention to clever ideas?

Looking for ideas to give feedback to students?

 

 

This post is about giving "Shout Outs" when the students have a success!

At the end of my Morning Meeting, I take a few minutes to give "Shout Outs" to individual students. I've been doing this for years, and the kiddos love it!

I usually have some paperwork the children have done, and I'll draw attention to something specific that child did that I'm hoping more kids will do. Some examples: showing their work in Math, extra effort, good handwriting, using complete sentences to answer questions, or just great answers to questions. Sometimes I'll just read a list of names of kids I noticed were working hard on their own.

My kids tend to be hams (just like their teacher) and are encouraged to take a bow when they're announced. The other kids cheer and applaud. (I'll bet you know plenty of kids who deserve applause!)

After I've given a "Shout out" for certain behaviors, I find the whole group makes an effort to improve in that area.

This little guy remembered to label his answer in Math!

 

This little one gave a delightful reason for her prediction!

These kiddos did a fabulous job on their homework, and earned the famous "Homework Award" Post its!

This little guy has made huge improvements in Math, and everyone needed to know!

Another great reason for a prediction. Aren't these kids great?

 

Give Shout outs a try! It just takes a few minutes, and it's a great way to give feedback and individual attention to a student that's deserving.  

They're all rather deserving, aren't they?

How do you draw attention to the type of work you expect?

Quick, Easy, and Honest Feedback!

Brain research tells us that honest feedback is essential in order for learning to happen. Common sense also tells us that children need to know if they're on track.

 

 

 

I make a point to give honest feedback whenever I can.

On written work, I use 4 highlighters: red (or pink), yellow, green, and purple.

Here's how it works:

 

If I highlight the child's name in green, that means they're doing just what's expected, they're right on track!

If the child's name is highlighted in yellow, that means he's on track, but needs to be careful about something. (I usually write a little note to let them know.)

If the child's name is highlighted in red (or pink), that means stop! There's a problem here. (We usually have a little conversation.)

But there's one more: if a child's name is highlighted in purple, that means his work is above and beyond expectations. Purple represents royalty, so I'll often bow to these children! 

For most papers, like homework, the only mark I make is the highlight at the top of the paper. Sometimes I'll focus on a specific skill, and make a note and highlight about that topic or skill. In the spelling papers below, I focused on the correct formation of the lower case m.

 

Then, of course, I'll find a little something spectacular that a child has done, and I'll make a point to make a purple star right on that part of the paper. 

I often hold up these papers for the children to see. The next day, many children are doing the same thing on their papers. It's amazing how happy it makes the children to get a little positive attention!

On the paper below, I've made purple stars for children showing their work in math. 

Well, there you go! It's easy to remember. It cuts back on my correcting time AND it gives the children the honest feedback they need! 

 

I hope you find this bright idea helpful!