Category: - Diamond Mom's Treasury

Conducting Student-Led Conferences

2/22/2020

Communicating student learning is important. Many teachers still use a parent/teacher format, but I have found that the student-led model is far more effective. I am retired now, but this is the model I used for over 20 years and the feedback was always positive and very helpful. I never experienced a time when it wasn't effective or well-received by both parents and students.

Conducting student-led conferences requires management that allows for sharing, communicating, and reflecting.

Conducting student-led conferences requires management that allows for sharing, communicating, and reflecting. In my classroom, there were up to 3 families at a time. They all had an agenda to follow and several different things to do. One of those things was to meet with the teacher. There was also flexibility to come and go if the family had multiple children and conferences to participate in.

Student-led conferences work because they include the child in the process. They empower children to be the leaders in sharing their learning.

Student-led conferences work because they include the child in the process. They empower children to be the leaders in sharing their learning. When they are done well, there are opportunities to share what has been learned, work together on activities with parents that relate to what they are studying, look at evaluations from both the child and the teacher, and discuss concerns and goals for future learning.

Student-led conferences are a blend of sharing, reflecting, and setting goals for future learning.

Student-led conferences are a blend of sharing, reflecting, and setting goals for future learning. It is important to prepare the children for these conferences. Role playing and practicing helps them to understand what to expect and sets them up for success.
Scheduling enough time in the conferences is also important. Children need time to share their successes, participate in activities with their parents, and discuss their learning with the teacher and their parents.

The materials and activities that you use for your conferences should reflect what is happening in your classroom.

The materials and activities that you use for your conferences should reflect what is happening in your classroom. I have created a package with some materials that have worked well for me. They can be used as a sample that can be adapted for your conferences.

Here are some activities, evaluation forms, and other materials that will help make a student-led conference meaningful and successful.

For more specifics and to see what is included in this package, check out this post.

The Building Blocks of B2S - Building Relationships

8/4/2017

This is an update to a previous blog post. I feel it is still relevant today so I am re-sharing it.

Building Relationships is one of the most important things we can do when we get our new students. We need to help them to understand that we are there for them, we care about them, and we want them to be successful. I feel that this is crucial for a successful year.

Team building and getting to know each other is essential. Everyone will do this in different ways depending on their personalities and interests, but that is okay. It helps with learning to accept uniqueness and diversity.

Building relationships and helping others to realize they are special just the way they are.

Getting to know your students is very important. Who better to ask than the parents. Every year I send home a form called "Getting Acquainted". It is a way for parents to share some insights about their child and the family. Since so many parents are now working, it is harder to have face to face conversations with them. They want to be involved in their child's learning, but sometimes we have to be more creative to make sure this happens.

It is important to keep the lines of communication open so that we can have the frank conversations when necessary. I believe that each day is a fresh start, so if I can focus on what is right in the classroom and help my students to do the same, this can be communicated to the family through notes, phone calls, or face to face conversations when possible.

Often parents will ask what they can do at home to help support the learning that is happening at school. I believe that the best way to help is to read with their child and give them lots of real life experiences that use the skills and concepts taught. I send home a paper that explains how to go about doing Home Reading so that it can be effectively done and a positive experience for everyone. It is amazing how stressful home reading can be in some homes otherwise.
Here are samples from my letters. These are also available in my Back to School Start Up Forms package.

Getting Aquainted

Home Reading

Maintaining a positive relationship with support staff is also very important. They can be great allies throughout the year. We need to help them to feel appreciated for all that they do. Sometimes they can feel like they are taken for granted and a smile or a friendly comment can make their day. A special note also makes them feel special.

Thank you for your helping hands

10 Back to School Tips For a Successful Year

7/31/2017

Heading back to school can be exciting, but it can also be stressful. Here are some tips to help the school year start of well.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year.

1. Make sure that you are mentally prepared and refreshed so that you will have the energy for the first few weeks. It is amazing how tired teachers can get the first few weeks of school. Take some time for yourself and allow yourself to be pampered. You are worth it and you will find that you have more energy and stamina if you go into the year refreshed and relaxed.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 1: Mentally prepare yourself and get refreshed.

2. Have a plan for organizing your classroom, but don't worry about it being just perfect. You can always tweak it later. The main thing is to have the basics in place so that you can welcome in your students and begin working with them. Perhaps they can help you to make the classroom their own by adding some of their own ideas and decor during the first few weeks.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 2: Organize your classroom for start up.

3. Change up your room a bit even if you plan on using the same decor. It has the same affect as doing spring cleaning and working around the yard tidying it up after the winter. Things are fresh again and organized. I found that this was great for the kids as well. In our schools we get the same students back for the first week or two as the new classes are organized. Sometimes with split grades, some of the students will also be in your class for a second year. Having a different arrangement of furniture or a change in the way things looks helps them to feel like they are moving on also.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 3: Change your classroom up a bit.

4. Begin the first few classes with a focus on class community, self esteem activities, and review or introduction of school and classroom routines. This will pay big time in the months to come. When kids know that you care about them, they will be more willing to engage and work for you. It isn't about making buddies with them, you are the teacher and they are the students, but rather it is gaining their respect by showing kindness and respect.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 4: Focus on classroom community and self esteem activities at first.

5. Share some of your life with your students. Let them know a bit about who you are outside of the classroom.
I loved to share stories about my family and my pets with my students. They would often refer to them throughout the year and want to know more. Little things can mean a lot. My students loved singing Happy Birthday to my mom or my kids. I would put them on speaker phone and they would sing. My mom still remembers those calls and how special they made her feel.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 5: Share some personal stories with your students.

6. Be consistent and follow through when you set routines and consequences. If you let up on these, the kids will push the boundaries and it will be tough to get them to believe what you say. They will test you to see if you mean what you say. When they realize that you mean it, they will stop pushing so hard.
If the routines and consequences make sense and they have been explained and accepted as part of the class rules, then it will be easier to enforce them as well.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 6: Be consistent and follow through on rules and consequences.

7. Have a schedule to follow and lessons prepared, but be willing to throw it out or postpone it for teachable moments. If something happens during the day that is relevant to your students, it deserves to be allowed to be discussed, explored, and experienced. Kids learn more from teachable moments than they do from a structured lesson that is presented at the wrong time. No matter how fabulous the lesson is, if it is taught at the wrong time, it won't have the same impact.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 7: Use a schedule but be willing to change it for teachable moments.

8. Differentiate when necessary. Every child comes to school with different needs and abilities. It doesn't work to try and teach exactly the same material to each one. Although it takes time and some extra planning, differentiating the subject will allow everyone to engage and experience some success. Sometimes this might be as simple as finding reading material of different levels on the same topic. Or maybe it might be reducing the number of questions to do on a written assignment, answering orally instead of writing things down, or showing learning in a different way. Varying teaching styles to reach the different types of learners might also work well.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 8: Differentiate when necessary.

9. Make sure that you have brain breaks or physical movement added to your day. Nobody works well without breaks. Think about what things you start to do when it is time to write report cards. If you are anything like me, you will write for a bit and then need to do something different before continuing. You want to avoid doing them so you look for reasons to take breaks as well. This feeling could be the same for your students. Not everyone enjoys doing seat work for long periods of time.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 9: Use brain breaks and physical activities.

10. Have fun with your students. If your students are happy they will enjoy learning. If you are happy, you will enjoy teaching more. Teaching can be hard enough nowadays with all the added pressures of assessment, social and political environments, and burnout. You need to do things to protect yourself from the stress these things cause. Laughing and enjoying your classroom experiences with your students is one way to do this.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 10: Don't forget to have fun and laugh.

Well, there you have it. I hope these tips help. I wish you a happy and fulfilling new school year.
I would love to hear about some of the other tips you might have. Add them into the comments below.

If you are interested in checking out some of the materials that I use for starting up the school year, click here.
I have been adding a line of French products to my store lately. If you teach French Immersion or French as a Second Language, you can check these products out here.

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Getting ready for back to school

Running a Guided Reading Program

3/30/2017

I have been sharing my approach to using guided reading in the classroom. Today, I would like to walk through a sample guided reading rotation. For the purpose of this example, I am going to be using 24 students and 5 different leveled groups. Often there will be some students that don't fit nicely into groups and they may need to be on an individualized program.
It is important to also make the groups as small as possible (5 or less) when working with struggling or emergent readers. The other groups can be a bit larger.

Running a guided reading program and setting up stations to make it work.

Before beginning a program, it is important to figure out what levels the children are at. Then the groups can be formed so that the spread is not too great for facilitating an effective program.

Running a guided reading program - making the groups

My sample group is a beginning grade 2 class with a wide range of levels.
Group 1 - working with letters/sounds, sight words, and leveled books from 1-5
(3 students)
Group 2 - struggling readers levels 6-8 (4 students)
Group 3 - readers levels 12-14 (4 students)
Group 4 - readers levels 17-19 (5 students)
Group 5 - readers levels 23-26 (8 students)

Running a guided reading program - making the schedule

For this example, I will be spending about 20-30 minutes with the groups that I am working directly with. The other groups will be working independently or in centers. There will be time for about 3 of the groups to get direct instruction. Groups 1 and 2 will get direct instruction each day. The other 3 groups will get direct instruction at least 3 times throughout the week.

Note: It is not always possible to give guided reading instruction every day, but whenever it is scheduled, it is important to make sure that the groups that are struggling get some direct instruction.

Running guided reading stations - reading with the teacher

Here is the first rotation.
Group 1 - reading with teacher
Group 2 - word work center
Group 3 - listening center
Group 4 - early chapter book reading to self
Group 5 - novel study reading to self and responding to reading

Running guided readiing stations - reading to self

Rotation 2
Group 1 - word or letter/sound game
Group 2 - reading with teacher
Group 3 - word work center
Group 4 - listening center
Group 5 - novel study chapter activity

Running guided reading stations - word work center

Rotation 3
Group 1 - listening center
Group 2 - follow up activity to story
Group 3 - reading with teacher
Group 4 - close reading activity
Group 5 - word work center

Running guided reading stations - listening center

The listening center is a great place for using books and audio together. The students can listen to the story as they follow along in the book. This allows them to hear stories read with fluency and expression. The stories can also be chosen to fit the appropriate levels for the readers.

Running guided reading stations - writing center

Because it is difficult to get to all the groups, the tendency is to focus on those that are struggling and let the others read or work independently. It is important that time be found for them as well. I discovered early on that they were only surface reading when left to read for long periods of time without some guidance and support. That is why I created some study guide activities to help them to dig deeper into the material and get more out of what they read.

Running a guided reading program - making connections

Discussions and book talks also work well to find out what they understand and what interests them. If they are able to make connections and find enjoyment in what they are reading, they are more likely to continue wanting to read. Not all good readers enjoy reading.

Running a guided reading program - creative activities

Make sure that the activities and work associated with each book don't take away the enjoyment of the book. Sometimes it is is good to just read a story and not do an activity to go along with it. Switch it up and do some activities that are not written, but maybe dramatic or artistic.

Well, there you have it. I hope this helps with running a guided reading program in your classroom. If you missed the early blog posts, you can check them out in the links below.
If you do start up a program, I would love to hear about it.
If you already run a guided reading program in your classroom, it would be great to hear about it as well.

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Classroom Management - Whole Brain Teaching

10/6/2016

Classroom management is something that everyone needs to focus on when starting a new year. There are many different ideas and approaches being used now, so it is important to find what works for you and your students.

Three years ago, I was introduced to Whole Brain Teaching. I saw a few blog posts about its use in the classroom and I decided to find out more about it. I read the book Whole Brain Teaching For Challenging Kids during that summer and I decided to begin implementing some of the components in my classroom.

I decided to begin with the classroom rules. I created a set of posters to use in my room. I made some changes to rule 1 because I found that my students were able to follow directions quickly, but they sometimes didn't focus on following them correctly. I also changed rule 3 for my students because I didn't require them to raise their hands to leave their seats.

I decided to make a variety of different themes for the rules so they could fit in with the seasons, sports, and classroom decor. One bundle uses a cursive font as well. The rules didn't change, just the themes. Click on the images to get a copy for yourself.

I also introduced the concepts of Class/Yes and Teach/Okay. I was amazed at how quickly my students responded to these ideas and began to model them. It was interesting to see how I was able to break information into small chunks for them to teach each other. I didn't think I would be able to do this! I am so glad that I tried. The kids liked being the teacher and everyone was accountable.

I did create a scoreboard, but I found that I didn't use it very much. My class didn't have very many challenging behaviors, so they followed the rules most of the time without the board.

There are so many other elements to Whole Brain Teaching that I didn't get a chance to try out, but if I hadn't recently retired, I would definitely incorporate them into my teaching.

Head on over to the whole brain teaching website for more information. I would strongly recommend checking it out and reading the book. Even if you add just some of the elements into your teaching, it does make a difference.

Getting Ready For Back To School

7/25/2016

Getting ready for back to school

One of my favorite things to do each year was to change up my classroom so that it looked different and inviting for my new students as well as any returning students. Although I didn't always change up the colors or main posters, I did reorganize furniture and add new labels, name plates, banners, and calendar accents.

Back to school kit

Rainbow themed back to school kit

This led me to creating some of my own materials. Here are some kits I created.

Photo alphabet posters

color posters with both the American and Canadian spelling options available

These are some of the posters I made. There are several others that focus on classroom routines and expectations as well as Whole Brain Teaching.
Check out my Back To School category to see more of the products that I created.

For more classroom decor ideas or for classroom management materials, click on the categories in my store. Many of them are free!

I even have some clipart available so that you can create your own posters.

I sometimes wish that I was going back to my own classroom, but now that I am retired, I can help my colleagues with materials for their classrooms and I can do what I love - teach without dealing with meetings, tests, or reports cards. I call that Win-Win!

I wish you all the best as you begin a new school year.

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Student-Led Conferences

7/19/2016

I know it seems early to start talking about assessment, but it is an on-going thing that needs to be done in order to communicate successes and concerns with parents. Meetings can begin with the meet the teacher night and continue both formally and informally throughout the year. It used to be easy to meet up with parents at the beginning or end of the day, but nowadays, so many parents are working that it is more difficult to connect with them face to face.

Meetings with the parents and sharing successes and concerns about students can be very helpful, but preparing for the meetings can be time consuming and stressful.It is good to get started early when gathering materials and doing formative assessments.

Many teachers still use a parent/teacher format, but I have found that the student-led model is far more effective. I am retired now, but this is the model I used for over 20 years and the feedback was always positive and very helpful.

I have created the following package that contains the materials I used. It has been updated this year and is more current now. Click here or on the image below to find out more and check out the preview to get a free visual assessment page.

It is important to begin by sending home a letter to parents explaining what a student-led conference is and why you think it is beneficial. See the letter below.

As mentioned in the letter, a conference folder is prepared for each student. In this folder, the student's work, assessments, self-evaluations, and selected materials are kept. There is also an agenda for the day along with a math or language activity to be done with the parents, a letter template for the parent to use at the end of the conference, and a reflection sheet for the parents to complete and leave with the teacher.

Here are some of the assessments provided as well as the letter template and reflection form for the parent. I have made the forms with either a girl or a boy on them as well.

It is important that the children be prepared for the conferences, so do some role playing ahead of time. They get a kick out of being the parents and the child, so it is fun for them to do. You may have up to 3 families in the room at a time, so when doing role play, try to model that as well.

If you are not sure about doing student-led conferences, I encourage you to give them a try. You will be amazed at how valuable and positive they can be.

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Back to School Insights

7/18/2016

Yikes! Not already!

Summer is going by so quickly. It's hard to believe that we are already into the second half of July. Some people are preparing to return to school in a couple of weeks while others just began their holidays a couple of weeks ago.

Teachers may be taking a break from the classroom, but that doesn't mean that they are forgetting about school all together. In their daily travels, most teachers notice things that spark the thoughts of how they can use them in their classrooms. These might be items they see, places they visit, new ways of approaching ideas, or a variety of other things.

Beginning each year refreshed and with a new outlook is important for the mental health of teachers. Teaching is challenging nowadays and it is important to make sure that you take care of yourselves. If you don't, you risk burnout, sickness, and low energy which can lead to more challenges in the classroom. Remember to

Do More of What Makes You Happy!

Classroom management and organization will be key to helping you stay mentally in the game. If you ask anyone who has been teaching for a long time for tips, you will probably be told that it is important to spend time the first few weeks establishing routines and expectations, and getting to know your students.

This hung on my hallway bulletin board at the beginning of the year as a reminder that each person was special and important in our classroom. I later moved it into my classroom and put it on a board by the calendar.
Not only was it a daily reminder for my students, it was a daily reminder for me as well.

Kids like to feel that their teachers care about them. Doing things together and sharing stories can help with this. My students loved hearing stories about my family, my pets, and my childhood. They felt like I was more than just a teacher. They realized that I had a life outside of the classroom and I had included them in a part of it.

They knew that my power word was Believe.

When I retired, my husband and son spoke at my reception. Here is an excerpt of what my son had to say.

"For many people, work and family are very much separate entities. For my mom, I believe the two are inextricably linked.
I'm not saying that she always brings work home. Rather, I think family plays into her everyday work life. My mom is firm, yet fair, and she cares so much about the success and well being of her students, they become like extended family members.
Who else can say that, for a while, they thought their mom's first name was Mrs. Or who can say that they get an annual birthday serenade from a class of elementary students, who've been well briefed on your life by the way."

These are special posters that hung in my classroom to remind my students of how special and unique they were.

Building Relationships is one of the most important things we can do when we get our new students. We need to help them to understand that we are there for them, we care about them, and we want them to be successful. I feel that this is crucial for a successful year.

Team building and getting to know each other is essential. Everyone will do this in different ways depending on their personalities and interests, but that is okay. It helps with learning to accept uniqueness and diversity.

Getting to know your students is very important. Who better to ask than the parents. Every year I send home a form called "Getting Acquainted". (Get your own copy by clicking the image above.) It is a way for parents to share some insights about their child and the family. Since so many parents are now working, it is harder to have face to face conversations with them. They want to be involved in their child's learning, but sometimes we have to be more creative to make sure this happens.

It is important to keep the lines of communication open so that we can have the frank conversations when necessary. I believe that each day is a fresh start, so if I can focus on what is right in the classroom and help my students to do the same, this can be communicated to the family through notes, phone calls, or face to face conversations when possible.

Often parents will ask what they can do at home to help support the learning that is happening at school. I believe that the best way to help is to read with their child and give them lots of real life experiences that use the skills and concepts taught. I send home a paper that explains how to go about doing Home Reading so that it can be effectively done and a positive experience for everyone. It is amazing how stressful home reading can be in some homes otherwise.

Here are samples of my letters. These are also available in my Back to School Start Up Forms package.

Well, there you have it. I hope some of this insights help you and that you have an awesome new school year with many successes and celebrations.

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Routines and Schedules Task Cards

7/16/2016

Routines and schedules are important for many people. They help to avoid the unexpected by knowing what is happening in advance. They also provide for some consistency. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be some times when there are changes, but those changes will be better handled if there is preparation ahead of time.

I have created a set of task cards to help with organizing these routines and activities. Included in this package are cards with the most common daily routines and school subjects. There is also a blank card for adding the unexpected. Each card has a visual of the activity as well as the words below it. There is also a blank clock face and digital frame so that the times can be added that work with the various schedules or routines.

Here are some samples from the package.

I have also created separate packages for home routines and school activities. Click on the images to see more.

This is a sampler of routine cards and schedule cards. If you like what you see, check out the full version.

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Walking In Hallways

6/26/2016

Walking quietly in the hallways can sometimes be a challenge. However, it is important to teach children how to do this so that they do not disturb others. Reminding them about being respectful and considerate of others will work with some children, but others sometimes need more specific details of the expectations.
Years ago, a principal of mine introduced us to T-charts for talking about expectations. On the left side of the chart was a heading Looks Like and on the right side of the chart was a heading Sounds Like.
Students were given an opportunity to develop the t-chart together and then it was posted as a reminder throughout the year of the expectations they had agreed upon.
Here is a sample of a chart my class created. You can get a copy by clicking the Lining Up Tips image below.

Lining up can also be a challenge. I remember when it was crazy as kids tried to get in line before we came up with some guidelines. Here are some examples of ways to line up. I have found them to be very helpful. My favorite way is boy/girl as it separates some of the buddies and this helps with quiet walking.

I hope these ideas help with making movement from place to place smoother.

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