Starting the School Day Right

    I recently started teaching in a new school. I can only send praise to my predecessor. She was brilliant. Since I began my new assignment in an established classroom, I decided to not make any major changes until August when the new school year begins.  The kids in this classroom already had a routine and a certain way of doing things. Instead of changing what they knew, I decided to change my ways to adapt to them. 
   One of the most outstanding things my predecessor did was to start the students academic day with daily classroom news. First thing every morning after breakfast, my students begin by reading our classroom newspaper. The newspaper highlights what we are learning in school, upcoming events in school, real world news, what's for lunch and more. The newspaper doubles as a point card on the back to track the students behavior. The students bring their newspaper home every night so it is also an easy way to communicate with parents. There is a place for comments on the point card side so if a student does something really well, or something s/he shouldn't have done this can be written on the back side of the newspaper too.
   Now this is where the true genius of the newspaper comes in: There is a joke in it everyday that the students must solve! There is a weekly joke person who's job is to find the daily joke for the newspaper. So now the teacher is linking reading, current events, challenges of the mind...and wait...there is more! The newspaper also has a wordsearch built in! Each day the students are asked to find five words present in the articles of the newspaper! This gives the students more reading power and vocabulary! What more can a teacher ask for than to have a meaningful activity every day to ease the students into their day of learning! So kudos to the teacher before me in this classroom who found a stress free  way of starting the school day right! I sincerely praise your efforts.

A Newspaper sample:

P.S. The names in the sample have been changed for anonymity.

Reading Beyond the Classroom: The Reading Chain Challenge

   

A little over a month ago I left my dream job to begin a new chapter in a similar position in a different state! I spent many sleepless nights trying to decide if this was the right thing to do. I fought myself because my whole life I generally took the road less travelled. This was once again, the road less travelled! I have always looked out for others before myself. I cheered for the underdog because I believe that all people deserve a chance in life no matter what their home circumstances are like. I grew up watching Walt Disney films where the underdog always wins. Now, I was leaving an amazing group of children who usually gave me their best work. Children who followed my every whim. Children who trusted me to take care of them and guide their education. In our short time together, we all became stars. We didn't sit quietly alone in our special education classroom. We emerged during our time together. We were in the newspaper several times and made television news on two stations. How did we do this? We did this by working hard for others and in the process building our own confidence and academic skills. We made memories that last a lifetime. I learned more from these kids than I ever did in any higher education classroom. In the end, I didn't want to be just one more person walking out of their lives. Saying goodbye was hard. As my assistant reminded us, this goodbye was forever. At the time I thought this word "forever" was going to break my heart! 
    My first day in my new position, I was greeted by two amazing paraeducators and a new classroom of children. Beginning a new position in the middle of a school year is an unique challenge. My new students were unsure about me, rightfully so. I of course thought of the children that I left behind. I always say "once my student always my student". I found myself using many of the same techniques that I used in my previous position. Techniques that my former students helped me to hone. In my first month in my new position I have learned so much. I have learned, that just like students, teachers are always learning too. I still have so much to learn. I am grateful for this. I still get excited when learning new skills and techniques. 
    It's been a month. My new students were curious about my former students. They asked lots of questions about them. In this month , I have gradually blended my brand of teaching to my new classroom. We decided to make a reading chain like the one my former students in room 215 have started. Then we decided to challenge the room 215 kids into a reading challenge to see which class can read the most books by the end of the school year! My new students in room 10 kept track of their books read this school year, so we made a reading chain like the one in room 215! The challenge is on! 
   "Forever" isn't forever! Two groups of teens who come from different worlds have come together to compete for the top reading title! The prize, a pizza party for the winning classroom. The real prize: teaching students that reading is fun and is a skill that takes us all beyond the classroom. The goal: to make better readers, one link at a time!

When Reading Doesn't Work!

     On July 22nd I jetted off on a three week journey that has forever changed my life! Due to flight delays and flight changes my luggage was lost before I even left Trenton, New Jersey! Still I was on an adventure of a lifetime so quickly decided that I wasn't going to let exhaustion and lost luggage ruin my trip! I was on my way to Germany to meet my daughter's new family and to share in the joy of her marriage. I was on a Lufthansa flight with a cozy feather pillow and perfectly coiffed stewardesses. Though the flight to Munich was was aesthetically pleasing, it was very hot to the point that I was soaking wet! I was in the middle section between larger men on both sides, one with his elbow jabbed in my side throughout the flight. His English was about as good as my German so we really didn't communicate! I had to go to the bathroom for the longest time but since the men were sleeping, I was polite and kept my discomfort to myself! I found myself thinking about my students who have so much difficulty reading English. One student in particular who cannot read, write, or clearly communicate in English. Now I was in his shoes! I am unable to read, write, or speak well in German! So since I was going to be in foreign countries for the next three weeks I decided to consciously think about what it must be like on a daily basis for my students who have so much difficulty reading, writing and communicating in what to them is like a foreign language. This is my saga of when "reading doesn't work"! 
    From Munich I flew to Frankfurt where my daughter and son-in-law would clearly know how to find my luggage! The problem was that the Frankfurt Airport is HUGE so knowing where to find my daughter and son-in-law was an issue! So, I decided to be self-sufficient and go in search of my missing luggage. I found a "polizist" (policeman) who surely could point me in the right direction! He kindly stamped my passport but didn't see my dilemma as much of a priority! So, I used my visual skills to go toward the way he was pointing and found the baggage area! I searched the baggage area high and low keenly using my visual skills to find my luggage! I looked at every black suitcase I saw, none were mine! I did find my daughter and son-in-law though, a definite perk in my frazzled state!
     An hour later, my luggage was still missing! All three of us asked questions; they in German and me in English but in the end we were running in circles to all of the same places. I thought how exhausted my students must feel by the end of a day! Just when everyone was about to give up, I saw a woman who worked for my original airline, U. S. Airlines. We gave each other the universal symbol of kindness, a smile. In English I carefully showed her all of my documentation from the beginning of my trip until now. She made phone calls. She learned that the luggage was in the airport. She sent us to a place we had all ready been. It was now closed! We then saw an elderly man in work clothes with suitcases. We asked him if he knew where suitcases were kept that were unclaimed. He did! He had a key! He unlocked a door and there sat my suitcase! I hugged him! I don't think that my students would have been able to navigate this system. They would have given up in frustration and possibly cried. It was rough for me with two others helping me. Reading and communicating were key components of finding my luggage. 
   In the next few weeks with my daughter at my side, we traveled in Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands. Luckily, my daughter is fluent in German so I had assistance in most things that we did! My only real difficulty was in Berlin at a bathroom with no visual aides. There I had to decide between herren (men) and damen (women). Again, I relied on my visual senses and waited until a man came out of the door marked herren before entering the door marked damen!

   My conclusion in my personal "social experiment" on the importance of reading is this: Life is not impossible without being able to read or write but everything takes longer because it must be thoughtfully done. Also, one must be able to communicate even if in rudimentary ways. Smiles and hand gestures, and pictures go a long way when trying to communicate with someone with a different language than your own. The pierogi lady in Poland became so much kinder to us after our second visit when we all learned to communicate better through smiles and visuals! In the end it was hard to say zegnaj (goodbye) to her. So, as a special education teacher it is my duty to not only teach my students to read and write but how to communicate when they can't read and write. When reading doesn't work then tolerance in getting your point across to others is essential. 

Fun Ways to Motivate Readers

    It is my steadfast belief that reading everyday improves literacy. I began reading to my own children as soon as we were home from the hospital! Crazy, maybe, but my children were solid readers well before kindergarten. Not all children are born natural readers. Some children really have to work hard at learning how to read, for multiple reasons. As an educator, I take reading very seriously, as I should! As a special education teacher in a 12:1:1 classroom, I can tell you that most of my students struggle with reading in one way or another. Some with decoding, others with comprehension, some with both. I can also tell you that these kids work hard everyday to improve their skill at reading. They also all love reading!
   I love coming up with creative ways to help children become motivated readers. Some kids are intrinsically motivated, others need a little push. I guess I am the reading pusher! Sounds scary but it's all good fun! Over the years I've developed many ways to motivate children to read, even children who like to read enjoy a new "gimmick" every now and then! So, here are a few ways to make reading fun!

1) The Reading Chain Challenge:  The reading chain challenge begins on the very first day of school! Everyone in the classroom including the aides, students, and me are invited to participate. It's an honor system so all books read count, even those read at home! After a book is completed the reader needs to fill out a pre-cut strip 

 of paper that includes their name, the date, the book title, and the author. If the children are young or unable to write, a note from Mom, Dad, or their guardian works too. Each strip is then added to a chain that we attempt to get all the way around the classroom. This year we made it about half-way around the room. As a class we read 233 books this year! On the last day of school the strips are tallied and the person who read the most books wins a  sizable prize! This year's winner read 35 books. The runner-up read 34 books! The race was so close! This strategy can be adapted at home. Imagine the great chain that could adorn your den or child's bedroom.

2) The New Year Challenge...read fifteen books in 2015: Just in cast the Reading Chain Challenge didn't give out a reward quickly enough, there is the 15 in 15 New Year Challenge! This challenge begins on the first day back to school after the holiday school break. The goal: To read 15 books before the last day of school in June. The Prize: A  BIG "Symphony" with a round of applause!  A big symphony is a large size chocolate bar from Hershey. Some students earned more than one Symphony with a round of applause! In this challenge, for each book read, the students had to write a short book report and draw an illustration. I keep track of the number of books read in a wall display (shown in the picture) with big numbers to remind everyone to read! I also use this challenge for "early finishers" who need a task to do to fill-in time while their classmates finish work they have all ready completed. This challenge is easily adaptable for home use as well.

3) Balloon Pop:  Balloon Pop is a motivational reading strategy that I enjoy using in the summertime but it can be used anytime during the year! I write the names of all of my kids favorite books on to tiny strips of paper (cut up sticky notes work well); I fold the paper and place it into a balloon. I then blow the balloon up and place the balloons into a basket or bucket. When reading time comes the child chooses a balloon and pops it! They can pop-it any way that's safe, stomping on it, sitting on it or with a fork or pin. Never ever let a child pop a balloon with their teeth because this can be a chocking hazard. I would of course suggest adult supervision, especially with younger children. This is a fun, memorable way to enjoy reading time!

     
In the end, the only thing that matters is to keep reading! It's fun to motivate readers. Reading provides a valuable hobby that promotes literacy. When done at home with the parent reading together creates a bond that lasts a lifetime. A child that reads will be an adult who reads. Have fun reading!

Book Review:

Diary of a Wimpy Villager by: Cube Kid. This is a self-published book for Kindle.  It is a diary of a twelve year old minecraft villager, named Runt.  Runt wants to be a warrior.  The characters in this story are engaging. Kids think it's funny.  In the end kids want more because Diary of a Wimpy Villager is a cliffhanger!  In my opinion this is always good, because it keeps kids reading! 

Strategies to Help Students Cope with Anxiety

     Anxiety in students can be a difficult behavior for classroom teachers to identify and calm. Anxiety comes in many forms and displays in many different ways. All students feel anxious at one time or another which is to be expected. Anxiety disorders on the other hand, and be described as a maladaptive emotional state or a behavior that is caused by excessive fears and worries whether real or imagined. Some students, suffer from anxiety that is severe enough to interfere with daily activities Some behaviors limit a child's progress in school due to the inability to actively engage in everyday activities and routines. Anxiety also can limit friendships which leads to isolation and loneliness.
   Anxious behaviors include by are not limited to: restlessness, irritability, trouble focusing, tires quickly, sweating, blushing, muscle tenseness, avoidance of an activity,non-compliance, destruction of property, fidgeting, talking out, cursing, disrupting classmates, obsessions, compulsions, extremely shy or introverted, in a daydream like state, agitation, disorganization, or extreme organization, anger, withdrawal, flight, worry, crying, truancy, frequent illness or injury, and/or school refusal.
    Suspected student anxiety that lasts more than a week should be shared with your school's mental health support team such as the school psychologist, guidance counselor, nurse, and social worker.. The observations should also be shared with the child's parents and/or guardian's. Parents and guardian's often have valuable information in regards as to changes in the student's home environment that can cause anxiety.
     As a special education teacher I encounter students with anxiety on a daily basis. All of my students have had team meetings where various strategies have been discussed. Knowing which strategy to use often comes from simply connecting with the student and knowing which strategy to use to help him/her cope with the anxiety provoking situation. Below, I've made a chart with sample situations that students face each day, and possible strategies that may help. Remember, consistency is key, and what may not work on day one may work on day five as long as the strategy fits the situation and the students and its use is consistent.  Students who are anxious work best in a calm, supportive, organized classroom with clear expectations.  Students work best with a teacher who is clearly in authority but uses positive rewards and reinforcement who respects and listens to  the student.

Anxiety Strategy Chart:

   

   *Remember, anxiety is a serious  condition. Please check with your school's mental health team and the child's parents and/or guardians before beginning ant type of formal strategy plan.

Sample Response Cards:   

Gimme A Break Box:

http://mittaubs.blogspot.com/2014/11/gimme-break-box.html

Mitt Aubin's Book Review:

    Today's book review comes from Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham in their picture book, Harry the Dirty Dog.  Harry, has been around entertaining children for over 50 years!  I chose to write about Harry because he has anxiety about getting baths!  So he does what a lot of anxious people do, he fled and avoids the bath altogether! He even hides his bath, scrubbing brush! In the process, Harry gets very dirty! His family becomes very worried about him when they can't find him! When they finally see Harry, they don't recognise him because he is so dirty! So, Harry overcomes his fear of baths in a desperate measure to reunite with his family! You will have to read the rest of this book or listen to my dear idol, Betty White to hear and see how happy one can become when overcoming their fears!