Teambuilding with Kagan!

Teambuilding with Kagan!

My kiddos sharing the contents of their "Me Bags"
within their table groups

In order to build a sense of community and trust within your classroom, team building should be done every day for at least the first week of school.  After that it is recommended that it be done twice a week to help students maintain that sense of trust.  Team Building should be non-academic in nature, and a task that requires all members of a group to participate in order to complete the task.

Teambuilding creates enthusiasm, trust, and mutual support, which in the long run leads to more effective academic work!   -Dr. Kagan

Effectively organizing teambuilding activities, can help the child who feels the most unsuccessful become the MOST successful member of the team. Every student gets to contribute his/her own skills to better the group as a whole.  I have seen the quietest students blossom into being more active participants in their group and in class in general, which of course then leads them to academic success as well. In the video below you can see my students participating in Kagan Teambuilding activities the first couple weeks of school.  They shared “Me Bags” with their groups, they also participated in the Team Sentence building activity, the Team Word Finder activity, and the About Me Question Cards- just to name a few!  ALL students were engaged and excited to participate with each other. Now being ONLY 3 weeks into the school  year my students are ALREADY working together cohesively in teams, and not just when I ask them to! They are already comfortable enough that they are naturally gravitating towards teamwork even when I haven’t prompted them to do so.  Just today during a teambuilding activity, I heard one of my students say to the other one “Look! Zolin came up with the word “due.” That was a good word Zolin!” It was super cute, and exactly the type of encouragement, feedback, and respect that I hope to build into my students!

Kagan says that through teambuilding students get to know, like, and respect their teammates. Student teams meet some of students most important needs: to feel known; to feel liked; to feel accepted; to feel a sense of belonging; and to be successful. Here are the 5 essential components that Kagan suggests are needed to develop cohesive teams:


1.  Getting Acquainted: Getting to know your teammates.  I used the “Me Bag,” and the “About Me Questions” activities from Kagan, to help implement this structure (seen in the video above).  

 2.  Team Identity: Forming a team identity.  You can have students create team names, posters, cheers, etc.  I have my kiddos come up with team cheers.  They love doing this, and they come out super cute.  I also used the “Team Word Finder” and the “Team Sentences” activities from Kagan to reinforce this as well.

 3. Mutual Support: Feeling supported by teammates. Helping students create a feeling of mutual support when they know that they can and need to rely on each other.

 4.  Valuing Differences: Clarifying and respecting differing values.  These are activities that clarify an individuals own values and beliefs and help students come to an understanding where they respect each other’s individuality and differences.

 5. Developing Synergy: Building on teammates contributions. These are tasks that encourage students to build on each other’s ideas.  When cooperatively working in a group, the group product can be better than the product of even the most accomplished individual.  You want your students to reach this level of cooperative learning in order to maximize their learning experience. 

Collaboratively Learning,

Megan Brown

megan.brown@omsd.net

Starting the Year with Positive Parent-Teacher Relationships

Starting the Year with Positive Parent-Teacher Relationships

Teachers, how well do you know your parents?  Effective communication is essential for building a school-family partnership.  It establishes the foundation for all other forms of family involvement in education. So, how can we build this positive relationship with our student's parents?  To make these relationships strong, we need to focus on four things: expectations, collaboration, communication, and realizations.

How does the relationship between your student's parents and you affect their learning? Could this relationship have an effect on how well they read? How would your parents know that you are an effective teacher?   

Positive parent-school communication benefit parents.  The way in which we collaborate and interact with parents can affect a parents' involvement with their child's learning.  Positive interactions allow parents to feel safe and comfortable asking questions and getting involved in their child's education.  They become more confident and involved.  Our job as teachers is to help develop the essential role parents play in the school community.  By creating this positive bond with parents not only do students benefit but so do teachers. Imagine learning about student needs and their home environment through parents and not having to figure it out on your own.   

"It takes a village to raise a child."

 -African Proverb

What are some ways both teacher and parent can ensure that together they are doing what's best for their students'/child's success?

Expectations

When it comes to expectations, both parents and teachers have them for each other. Parents expect us to teach and guide their children to academic success and we expect parents to support their learning at home.  We also share common expectations such as attendance and behavior.  If these expectations are communicated with each other in a positive and clear way, it can have a positive response on student's learning outcomes.  The key word is communicated...  When expectations are clearly communicated, both stakeholders have a better understanding of their roles in the relationship.  So, set your expectations.  Let your students and your students' parents know your expectations.  I like to do this both at Back to School Night and in a letter that I send home the first day of school.  The key to giving this information is making sure it is passed on most positively and respectfully.   These expectations should be given and received many times throughout the school year.  


Communication and Collaboration

Have you ever heard that communication is a two-way street?  Communication is a must in building a successful parent-teacher relationship.  Communication can help a child in so many ways.  The more we communicate with each other, the better equipped we are to help students achieve academically, socially and emotionally.  We have so many opportunities as teachers to have successful two-way communication with our students' families. Effective communication strategies include Initiation, Timeliness, Consistency, Frequency and Follow through.  I like to start with Back to School Night.  It's a great night to communicate the wonderful year their children will partake in and the community they will be part of. But what about the parents who cannot be at this event?  This is when a phone call works nicely (initiation).  Just a short phone call to let them know how excited you are to be their child's teacher will brighten everyone's day. Phone calls are also an effective way to let families know about their child's' success. A positive phone call can mean the world to a parent and a student.  

A phone call can include:

• What their child will be learning
• Invitation to Open House or other school events
• A positive comment on student progress
• Inform them of student achievement
• Inform them of their child's strengths 

Throughout the year, I communicate with parents in several ways, but a form of communication they can consistently count on is a weekly letter that I attach to the homework.  It states the learning objective and reminders for the week.  I also make sure to send home progress reports every six weeks (frequency) to inform parents of their child's progress.  Other ways to communicate is through parent/teacher conferences, daily with the Remind app (timeliness), Curriculum nights/workshops, Open House, and school-wide events.  Remember the key to success is always to be positive and follow through with what you say you are going to do.  


Realizations

I've made some realizations from my experiences as a teacher and as a parent. I’ve realized that we're on the same team and as such, we need to be supportive of each other.  We need to have mutual respect for one another.  Our number one focus and goal should be the success of each individual child.  Parents and teachers both have a genuine desire for children to be successful.  It's a realization that assumptions and perceptions are often inaccurate. Seeking to understand each other by communicating is key to having powerful relationships.  It's a realization that when a child and parent feel supported by a teacher, students have a more significant advantage in their ability to be successful.  It's a win-win for everyone!


Just remember- You Got This!  Be Intentional, Be Positive, Be Visible and Approachable, Be Clear and Consistent, and Be a Good Listener.  Success for all students is the objective, and positive parent-teacher relationships are crucial to this success!

Positively Teaching,                              

Randi Muehlen

Buckle Up Friends! It’s Going to be a Bumpy Ride.

Buckle Up, Friends!

It's Going to be a Bumpy Ride

You know that tingly feeling of anticipation that you get when

you buckle yourself into a roller coaster ride? Well, that’s the

feeling I get at the beginning of every school year. I love the

sense of infinite hope and expectation that distinguish those

first few weeks of school from the rest of the year. There’s a palpable sense of expectation in the air.

The pencils are sharp and inviting.

Minds are open and eager to learn.

Don't get me wrong. You're scared,
If you want to make the ride fun for you and your students,


but in a good way. And even though you know how "the ride" is going to end,
it always feels different.
You may have new students. Perhaps you're working with a
new grade level and learning a new curriculum.

Keep your eyes wide open and be present in the
moment. Embrace everything that our district has to offer.
We are fortunate to have coaches to support us with technology, Wonders, Eureka Math, and E.L.D. Spend some time investigating Symbaloo.

There are a multitude
of varied resources for
you and your students.

As classroom educators, there is a lot that is outside of our control. That being said, we have TREMENDOUS impact on our students when they are in our classrooms. So how can we make the most of the time that we do have. Prepare by planning, plan by preparing, and take advantage of every teachable moment.

“Place your hand over your heart. Feel that? That’s

called a purpose. You’re alive for a reason.

Don’t give up.”  Anonymous

Still Enjoying the Ride,

Lola Jollie

This is a journey of making mistakes and learning from them . . .

Start of a new school year, time to make new connections with our students through meaningful and relevant activities.

My name is Kevin and I want to welcome you into my classroom - both through this written blog and whenever you want to visit my classroom in person.  I want to share with you my journey through this year as I try new things - my successes and my failures - all in an effort to make connections with each and every one of my students.

“If you TRY, and LEARN from your MISTAKES, then you will 

PASS this class.”  

Mr. Stott

My goal with students during these first couple weeks of school is to break down barriers for those that find math intimidating and at the same time challenge students who love math to not be satisfied with where they are right now.  My struggling students are often afraid to try difficult tasks while my advanced students stress how they can fix their answers.  I repeat over and over during these opening weeks, “If you TRY, and LEARN from your MISTAKES, then you will PASS this class.”  This helps all of my students lower their anxiety level while at the same time set the expectation that you will make mistakes in this class.

Computers in the Math Classroom

(https://blogs.ams.org/mathgradblog/2016/05/26/computers-math-education/)

by K. Cluver

This year my challenge is to learn how to implement technology effectively in my classroom environment.  For the first time, I have a set of 35 laptops housed in my classroom and are for my use only - one computer to one student.  I am wondering how I can use this new resource to challenge my students, to offer intervention and support my students during their unit projects - and at the same time keep 160 students accountable for their time on the computers.  As I go through this year, I will write about using computers in my classroom on this blog.  I realize that this will be a journey of learning for myself as I try to implement computer usage in a meaningful and relevant way.

Excellence is not an act, but a habit.

Kevin Stott