Chapter 4 - Teaching With Intention

Chapter 4! Debbie Miller is making me think this summer! It's a good thing! I am really enjoying all this reflection about my teaching. What fun to be able to sit on the porch, listen to the soft rain, know dinner is in the oven and I still have the time and energy to blog! :) Happy summer! 

Classroom Culture is HUGE! So is School wide Culture! That may be another chapter or book! lol

So her big three things:

 1) Putting my own Thinking on Display  

2) Encouraging and scaffolding student thinking and

3) Intentional Use of Language 

These can be some tough ones! Hopefully I will be honest with myself - and you! 

Well, I think I agree with Greg at The Kindergarten Smorgasboard when he said about putting thinking on display not just at reading time! This is where we have all heard it for years and we all know the benefit of it. We need to move beyond it though. We need to show them how we are thinking all day long! That will be hard! That will take some NEW thinking on our part! Well, my part- can't speak for all of you! I need to make sure this is deliberate and thought out. I also think this helps with building that classroom culture. Talking to each other is IMPORTANT! Talking about things is important. Letting them know you are interested in stuff and interested in the same stuff as them, what better way to showcase thinking! 

BEING PRESENT! WOW! This one hits home! :( Not all the time, but sometimes. Probably more than I care to think.) There is always SO MUCH to do. I know I have caught myself thinking - oh, if they are working quietly on that and they are doing fine, I'll just try to get this one little thing done. But then I miss what they are doing. I miss the opportunity to talk with them - and see how they are thinking. I ususally catch myself and stop myself. Sometimes a sweetie will stop me too! Then I make sure I am present and remind myself that the other stuff can wait! I need to let that small stuff go! So this is my goal this year. Let it go! Let it go! Let it go! (You sang it, you know you did!) I want to let that OTHER stuff go! I want to not worry about what meeting I have or if I turned in some form or if I need to get something out of the cupboard. I want to be and stay PRESENT! This is what got the highlighted star in my book. Literally! I love the quote on page 51 - "It was as if I was so busy doing the stuff of teaching that I didn't have time to be thoughtful and reflective." WOW! So true! Thank you Debbie for being so honest! It helps us be honest too. I think I need a sign that has her line from page 52 - "I have to be actively engaged in what's happening now, at this precise moment." I may need it to be a poster, a bulletin board, a bill board on my way to work!
I'm going to be working on this thinking outloud stuff alot! I think I need to practice over the summer. The hubs and kids will be fine with that won't they? lol


Well, this is another big one. Do I do this enough? Do I help them get where I want them to be? I love figuring out their misconceptions as we are discussing things and working through stuff. Shouldn't that be the reminder that HEY we need to do this all the time? But we get caught up in that schedule and that curriculum and that lesson plan. There are many times I wish I could ditch the lesson plans and just teach what I know we need to teach. I think this might help stay in the moment. Would it? I don't know.
I do use Whole Brain Teaching - and I'm continuing to learn more and more about it. I do believe that this is HUGE for them to work on thinking.I  can tell when I "forget" or "don't take the time" to do something with a gesture or Teach/Okay. They don't have it. They don't remember it the next day, sometimes they don't remember it from the morning. This is so helpful! I need/want to do more and more with this - and include more thinking in this.
I loved Debbie's examples of Teacher Talk - How HELPFUL! This is a great reminder of what and how we should be doing it.
Oh and the PIAGET quote!!! Happy Happy HEART!!! Page 58 -
"Each time one prematurely teaches a child something he could have discovered himself, that child is kept from inventing it and consequently from understanding it completely. (1983)"
SO TRUE!!!
I love "Something To Try" on pg 59. This is/will be eye opening. I'm hoping in an ok way! I also think this will help in planning for next year and some room placement ideas.

I love the notebook idea! I can see all of us running out when the Back To School Sales start and looking for that perfect notebook to write down all those gems that the students will be thinking! This will be cool!
I hope I am encouraging their thinking. I give them time. I know when one child is trying to think, sometimes it's the other kids that are impatient and raising their hand to answer. I tell them to hold those thoughts. Their friend needs time to think. It's ok for us to wait.I want the child to not feel rushed. I want them to think.
I tell them they are "college bound". I tell them that they need to be thinkers to get there.
Oh that word BECAUSE! I love that they think that is the reason. Why? BECAUSE. That's it. Just because. Nope sorry - you need to tell me more.
The idea of a Thinker Wall from Greg is awesome! How great would that be?!? I'm thinking even hanging their quotes around the room. I have so many of the Teacher Quotes around, but it needs to be their QUOTES! I'm thinking this would be great! Maybe I need to buy two notebooks....

Can't wait to go swimming with the sharks next week! See you then!