Rigor/Relevance/Relationship

This is an hour and a half of Dr. Bill Daggett talking about ICLE, the research behind their work, and why it matters in our classrooms. It is a couple of years old, too. Still, he does an incredible job of delivering researched based truth around the importance of the 3  R's: Rigor, Relevance and Relationship. He and his company work from the viewpoint that American Public Education and our teachers are crucial to the success of our country.

Mindfulness: Research, Process and Resources

Many of us are working on developing a mindfulness practice for ourselves and, in tandem, one for our students. There is a preponderance of research in brain science that validates this as a worthy pursuit for adults and children alike. The pay-offs are many: less stress and anxiety, better sleep, improved ability to make choices, and better able to cope with "big" or "negative" feelings (there aren't any negative feelings- they are all feelings).

This post will provide support following the meeting of 9/25/2017. At the meeting personal journals were distributed for tracking your own mindfulness practice, as well as handouts that covered a mindfulness curriculum.

Above, is an animated short with Dan Harris' talk about why mindfulness is a superpower.

What might it look like in a classroom?

• My experience: For me, mindfulness was most helpful to begin our day, after lunch, and sometimes prior to the end of the day.
• Students enter my room to the same song each morning, knowing they have the length of the song to check in, sharpen pencils, put things away. At the conclusion of the song, mindfulness begins.
• Mindfulness varied in practice and length: one day may be just bringing attention to the breath, another day I might be reading a guided meditation, or students might be listening to a guided meditation. Whatever the technique, I stuck with it all week. (It is a PRACTICE! LOL)
• Students all needed to participate: by that I mean, not doing anything else.They needed to sit quietly and not distract others. Sometimes on their chairs, sometimes from the floor. Please never force a child to close their eyes- that can be a trigger from past trauma.(Exception: I had two parents with religious objections to a non-religious practice. I'm not going to argue. Those students sat and read quietly.)
• The practice of mindfulness must be secular in our setting. In other words, there should be no "ommmming", chanting or hands held like you see on tv and in the movies. Kids will do that because that is what they have seen. 
• We are monitoring our breath, scanning our body for tension and soothing our mind. That is mindfulness. It also means to try to bring ourselves fully into the present moment through using our breath as an anchor.

Sharon Salzberg on the choices we face and what qualities we choose to "feed".

This is a link to a "morning meeting" in a 5th grade classroom. A practice like this could be very valuable at any grade, but would take careful attention and time to cultivate. The most important part of any social emotional learning or mindfulness practice is doing it daily, and remembering it is practice. Some days will be better than others, and those kids most resistant to it it, who act out and disrupt others, are the ones who need it most!

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/classroom-morning-meeting#

Below are embedded videos that show the Mindful School's curriculum in practice.

Brene Brown on Daring Classrooms

I hope that you will take some time, ignore the couple of swear words (if they bother you), watch this video and then reflect on what she has to say. Her research is deeply impactful and challenges long-held beliefs. The role of shame in our classrooms can have a life-long impact on students. I hope you are moved by this powerful talk.

2017-2018...Here We Go!

Greetings Ford Falcon Teachers!

I hope the first two days of the school year have found you happy and well, albeit probably tired!

In lieu of meeting in the midst of the beginning of our year, allow me to fill you in, as best I can, on what my role is and how I can work to serve you:

• In these first days, I am assisting in our newest K classroom. Mr. Newcomb is doing a fabulous job, and I really appreciate the team, who are working to support him.
• I have done the Fall DIBELS on most Kindergarten students, and will finish that Monday and Wednesday. First and Second grade DIBELS is Sept. 7th, all day.
• I am going over Benchmark and ready to support you. I have already had great conversations with several faculty members on instructional practices and instructional design.
• Laurie Condon and I are will use F4 when we need to meet as teams or in small groups.
• I am keeping my eye peeled for resources Benchmark, that may help you make the transition easier.
• I am always available via text, phone, or email to help you with classroom management, model lessons, implementing a new practice, or helping you find your "flow" in your current practice.

I am thankful for each of you- you all do so much and your professionalism is unsurpassed.

Welcome Back!

Julia 

Mindfulness in the Classroom

What is mindfulness?
Simply put, mindfulness is paying attention to the moment we are in, using the breath as a vehicle. It is also a way to examine and acknowledge what we are feeling in any moment. Finally, it is a method for developing our ability to respond, rather than react, to people, feelings or situations.

Let’s consider mindfulness first. The practices of mindfulness include explicit attentional training. Students are guided in exercises to anchor the attention to simple bodily processes, such as the sensations associated with the breath or ambient sounds. Mindfulness also explicitly develops emotionally positive states including kindness, compassion, and gratitude through practices that evoke and amplify particular emotions. It includes training in regulating our responses to impulses. Mindfulness is a practice of developing equanimity, meaning an ability to let go of reactivity and act from a place of greater ease, stability, and wisdom, rather than compulsively pursuing our preferences. From "Integrating Mindfulness & Social-Emotional Learning Programs" by Matthew Brensilver, PhD

Why Teachers should cultivate their own mindfulness practice:

 Patricia Jennings wrote the book on it (literally). It's called Mindfulness For Teachers.


Jennings was a teacher herself for two decades and now studies stress in the classroom as a professor and researcher at the University of Virginia. The Journal of Educational Psychology will soon publish a study of her work in New York City, teaching mindfulness to more than 200 educators in high-poverty schools.
Jennings says the teachers who received mindfulness training "showed reduced psychological distress and time urgency — which is this feeling like you don't have enough time. And then improvements in mindfulness and emotion regulation."
Translation: These teachers were better able to cope with classroom challenges and manage their feelings, which made it easier for them to manage their students' big feelings. And that, says Jennings, helps students learn. 

Anything that is accessible, healthy, grounded in science and easily available is worth prioritizing. Not to mention that is is cost-effective as well.

Many resources exist to help support both a personal practice and a classroom practice.  There are apps, timers, on-line training, web sites, guided meditations and books galore. In fact, it can be a bit overwhelming! Where and how do I start?

Chooses one resource, a book or an app, and begin with the breath. Sit quietly for five minutes and just notice the flow of your breath, in and out. Don't try to change it or judge it. When your mind wanders, and it will!, return your attention to the breath. When five minutes is up, notice how you feel. Then, the next day, do it again. You are beginning to train your mind. Be open to what arises, and don't judge your self. Be gentle with you.

Resources:
Sharon Salzberg. Much of my time is spent learning from her.
Calm - teachers get a free account
An app that I use daily is Insight Timer.
Dan Harris: 10% Happier 
Mindful Schools

Finally: if you have an hour. Jon Kabat-Zinn speaking on the Google campus:

Maker Space Reflections and Coding

We are so fortunate to be teaching in an era when low tech and high tech options are both the route to engaging opportunities for our students. Below are two links that are relevant to our work. 

Made With Code- similar to an Hour of Code, this web site (works on tablets, too), allows students to work with basic coding to create. I had Carolyn try it out and watched her push through some frustration and double back when things didn't align the way she wanted them. That is growth mindset in action! 

Then there is this fabulous reminder and guide from Mindshift, KQED's educational blog. It is all about how to provide meaningful reflection opportunities for our students, beyond "How did you think it went?". I know I often feel at a loss for how to get kids to articulate what they learned and what they did, beyond "It was great. That was cool." The infographics on this piece are stellar!

Phonemic Awareness- Early Literacy

Phonemic awareness has long been identified as an important foundational skill for successful literacy. Phonemes are simply units of sound in our spoken language. So being aware of them reflects a child's ability to break words apart into phonemes, put phonemes together to create words, hear rhyming sounds, etc. All done without a child writing or even needing to see print.

An example:

Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness in which listeners are able to hear, identify and manipulate phonemes, the smallest units of sound that can differentiate meaning. Separating the spoken word "cat" into three distinct phonemes, /k/, /æ/, and /t/, requires phonemic awareness. (Wikipedia, 2016).

As we move through our days in TK, K, First, and Second grade, it is important to teach to phonemic awareness skills and give students a chance to "make and break" words orally/aurally.

Below, is a link to numerous classroom activities to boost your phonemic awareness time!

http://www.prekinders.com/literacy-printables/