Baptism by Fire

Audio to come

The 6 week point

Having tried to set up and maintain boundaries with my class, I have discovered some things that do and don't work.

To engage behaviour I need to:

• implement engaging tasks
• reward children
• move swiftly

In order to maintain harmony, I also need a roving eye and the ability to prevent disruption from happening. Nip it in the bud. This means:

• keeping a very careful eye on my interesting kids and where they are seated, how they are being and what they are doing.
• manage transition effectively with clear expectations and careful control
• put strategies in place to settle children when coming in from lunch/morning tea

As a teacher, I need to:

• be positive
• be calm
• be serious
• see everything
• be understanding
• be interested
• be very prepared

A small ask.

Some thoughts

By morning tea today i realised i had had an engaged class.  Why?  I think I had set up the activity and my expectations in a way that the students saw as me meaning what i was saying.  I was serious about what i wanted them to do.  There were some flaws in the activity (too long, even with my scaffolding, more was needed, my expectations re spelling were not made clear) but many of the children in the class were doing exactly what i had wanted them to do.

I had also set up a new reward "The Throne" which may have played a role.

Again, I am seeing that the key to behaviour engagement is in the activity. Those children unable to do the activity/lose interest act out or disrupt.

However, they need to value their work and finish activities and not cop out.  I will be working on strategies to ensure children make finishing their work to a good level a priority. This could also help with creating an engaged class.

       

Reflections on Reading (2)

My reading rotation could have been better today.

What happened? 

Some kids didn't stay at their stations and wanted to be doing other things which was voiced from the get go. There were problems with technology.  I felt there was too much noise. The children were confused at one point which station to go to.

Why?

I am starting to think that the range of picture books for SSR is too hard and becoming repetitive for some children, and as a result they are losing interest.  The reading rotation that i keep online was showing the wrong day. One of the iMacs was having difficulty connecting to the internet.

What to do?

• Ensure Reading Rotation is always accessible and correctly displayed (use Spreadsheet) - print out 1 copy daily.
• Many books are too hard for SSR - I need to come up with an alternative for some kids.
• IDEA: Have a pre-reading station where the kids read the book they are about to read with the teacher - would this not enable them to go further when working with me?
• Need to reconsider where kids sit - signposts?
• Ensure that I follow up on all kids post "Activity" to ensure work has been done - especially with some boys.

Reflections 1

I believe I have engaged the behaviour of most of the class. They consistently meet my expectations and, provided the task or activity is appropriate, complete work to a level I would expect.  However, there is an element in the class with whom I am not at where I would like to be.

• Some boys seem to relish the negative attention 
• I find it hard to ignore their ignorance of my expectations of classroom behaviour 
• Their behaviour is at its best before the start of the day (i have nice conversations with them)
• They have shown the ability to focus on work when working far from each other
• They become almost incapable of self-managing after lunch
• They need very simple activities
• They have varying degrees of self-management but can easily set off each other
• They show little respect of authority (having been sent to Senior Teacher/AP)

So what?

1. I will try to ignore/give as little attention to their negative behaviour as possible.
2. I will not let their behaviour "win"
3. I will ensure that tasks they are given are simple and followed up on by myself with them in class time.
4. I will make sure that they are put in situations where distractions are minimalised
5. I will give them attention for positive behaviour and deal with negative in a non-disruptive way.
6. I will celebrate their successes

Storm Troopers - See no Evil by IamTHEdarthVADER

Observation Notes (20.2.15)

Observed another Year 3 teacher today setting up her reading session.  I had been told that she has a very calm presence, and this was true.  She did not raise her voice and at all times remained at ease. The children were eating their fruit while she was reading (in her words a rather "long story") and some listened intently while other were more interested in their watermelon.  She didn't jump on the people who were clearly not listening because, I assume, she simply wanted them to eat their fruit.

She had some challenging behaviours from some children and she dealt with these by simply telling them to stop that action - this was not always successful however.

What she had in were some strategies to reduce the chances of misbehaviour:

• a taped out area within which they should sit.
• clear responsibilities for some children (handing out fruit/sanitising hands).

My room will be taped out today :)

The Inquiry

Along with establishing the routines and expectations with a new class and a new teacher, I am finding it a challenge to engage the behaviour of a core group of boys in my year 3 class. Their lack of engagement can manifest itself in a way that takes me away from the other children and consequently can be detrimental to their learning.

Inquiry Focus and Action Plan