Elementary Matters: thinking

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.

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No Bathroom Comments!

Bathroom comments can mean "potty talk."
Yes, I definitely discourage that sort of talk in the classroom, but this post is about something completely different!

The "bathroom comments" I'm discussing today have nothing to do with potty talk!

But you know how the mere mention of the bathroom grabs the hearts of the little ones? This gives us a whole new meaning to the words "bathroom comments" that helps children become better listeners and better report givers!

This post is about encouraging students to ask appropriate questions or give appropriate comments when another student is sharing or reporting!

I encourage my students to ask questions or give comments when a child shares a story.

My only rule is: No "Bathroom Comments."

The question or comment needs to prove they were actually in the classroom listening to the story, not in the bathroom while the story was read.

Here's how it works:

Seth proudly gets up and reads his tree story.

Afterward, he asks for questions or comments.

Questions like these are encouraged:

Comments like these are encouraged:

These questions and comments could have been given, even if the student had been in the bathroom when the story was read.

These have been my expectations for years, and the children can recognize a "bathroom comment" instantly! You don't have to use that terminology, but it does get their attention... and makes them giggle!

Why is it important to get the kiddos asking questions and giving comments?

Well, first of all, we always want the children thinking!

It's also important that the children learn to listen to each other.

A third reason is that it helps the reader (speaker/ presenter) think about what kind of information their audience wants to hear. As the year goes on, their stories become more complete and more interesting for their audience. They anticipate what the questions will be, and put that information into the stories and reports.

As a teacher, it's important to model the proper ways to ask questions and give comments.

In Seth's story above, I might ask how tall the tree was (with prompting... as big as a ____?) or what kind of tree it was. I might comment that I could picture him playing in the leaves. I might also comment how he engaged his reader by asking a question at the end. I avoid giving opinions, since the positive feedback comes from the quality of the questions and comments, plus these make better writers as well!

Answering in Complete Sentences

Getting students to answer questions in complete sentences is no easy task, is it?

Here are some hints on making it easier on the kids!

Let's say the question is "What is your favorite food?"

Teach them how to use the words from the question to start off their answer.

"My favorite food is..."

Another question could be, "How can you show kindness?"

"I can show kindness by..."

Or perhaps you could ask, "How could you help someone who forgot his lunch?"

"I could help someone who forgot his lunch by..."

Here's one more example: "What animal would NOT make a good pet?"

"An animal that would NOT make a good pet is..."

It's important they get plenty of opportunities to hear this process before they go to the next step.

Now they need to get more involved! Instead of just hearing it, they need to practice orally.

I find this works well as a whole group, as in Morning Meeting. Ask one question to the group, and have each student tell their answer in complete sentences, using words from the question to start their answers.

It's a good idea to review how they'll be starting their answers:

"My favorite food is..."

"I can show kindness by..."

"I could help someone who forgot his lunch by..."

"An animal that would NOT make a good pet is..."

As they are practicing, make sure the questions are interesting and fun, so they will be more interested in sharing their answers! (Plus, it's fun for the rest of us to hear their answers!)

Be sure to compliment those who elaborate on their answers, rather than simply one or two words. This is our end goal!

"My favorite food is spaghetti."

"My favorite food is spaghetti, with meatballs and lots of cheese on top."

"I can show kindness by helping."

"I can show kindness by helping someone who doesn't understand their math, or gets hurt on the playground."

"An animal that would NOT make a good pet is an elephant."

"An animal that would NOT make a good pet is an elephant because it would cost too much to feed it, and it wouldn't fit in my room!"

See what I mean?

Here's where you add the paper!

Here's my little trick: have them meet with a friend and tell what they're going to write, word for word! Seriously, if they are going to write the language, they need to be able to speak it first! In fact, when they're first starting this skill, I might have them meet with a few partners before they sit down with the paper. (This is a trick I use with many aspects of writing... tell it first!)

I usually make a point to meet with a few children that I anticipate might struggle with this.

Once I get those "strugglers" going, I'll check in with others to keep them on track.

Once they're ready, it's time for them to practice this skill without the guidance. It's a great way to start the day: post a question for the day, and have them answer it in complete sentences while you take attendance and lunch count.

It's still a good idea to have them practice orally with a friend before writing.

Then, after they've written, sharing is encouraged!

Going back to revise after sharing is also encouraged!

I find the best way to encourage children to answer questions fully is to share the best ones. I'll go through the papers, find some that are well done, and share those to the whole class. I make sure I choose several different examples that show a variety of ways to answer.

Are you ready to start asking questions?

I happen to have plenty of questions, based on fun daily holidays:

Here's the bundle: Daily Morning Meeting Greeting Activities for the Whole Year

Each month is also available separately:

The July edition is free if you want to give it a try!

Look at all you get!

Each month has a page to display, a page to write on (with the same question), plus, a link to a related Boom Learning Daily Trivia activity! (Great for centers, fast finishers, and Gifted and Talented challenges!)

Plus, these make great backgrounds for virtual learning!

(Although, we're hoping we won't need those again!)

The Importance of Read Alouds!

I am committed to reading aloud to my students daily.

Not only is it my very favorite time of day, but there are so many benefits of reading aloud to kids.

Here are some advantages of reading aloud to children:

1. It's a shared literacy experience within the classroom community.

2. It's a great way to model important reading concepts like understanding characters, using inference skills, predicting, and more!

3. It's a great way to model phrasing and fluent reading.

4. Read Alouds are like an advertisement for books! Ever notice how the kids want to read a book right after you read it to them? Or perhaps another book in the series?

5. Read Alouds develop a child's vocabulary.

6. Shared books are a great way to model writing skills!

7. Shared books are a great way to spark discussion about sensitive subjects.

8. Children learn language patterns and figurative language through Read Alouds.

9. When you have multiple reading levels in your classroom (which most of us do!) it "evens the playing field."

10. Reading aloud helps build attention spans.

11. It's a chance to "think aloud" to model decoding new words using context clues.

12. It's a great opportunity to bring literature into other subjects like Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, and even Music, Art, and Phys. Ed!

13. Reading aloud encourages thinking and using imagination.

14. Reading aloud helps children learn about the world. Not just their own world, but other places, cultures, time periods, and even fictional worlds.

15. It's fun!

Looking to get families involved? Enjoy this resource!

Tips for Helping Children at Home With Literacy Skills

Want some more reasons to Read Aloud to students? Here are a few references! (Click each image for a link to Amazon.)

What books do you like to read aloud to children?
What other advantages to reading aloud can you name?

Myers-Briggs Part 4: How Do You Make Decisions?

It's time for another installment of my series on the Myers-Briggs Personality Types. Today we'll discuss how people make their decisions.

According to Myers-Briggs, there are two ways people make their decisions:

Thinking people make decisions based on fact. They are logical, objective, and driven by thought. They do the "right thing" whether or not it is liked. They have been known to enjoy a debate. Thinking types are sometimes seen as uncaring or indifferent.

Feeling people make decisions based on their hearts. They care about how people feel, and want to keep people happy. They are passionate and driven by emotion. They avoid conflict. Feeling types are sometimes seen as too idealistic or too sensitive.

As I've mentioned on discussion of previous scales, all people have parts of both sides. Most decisions are made with a combination of both Thinking and Feeling characteristics. However, we all have a preference.

Here are some interesting statistics: