Enhancing Your Writing by Heightening the Senses

October! A wonderful time to write about creepy crawlies, howling wolves, blood sucking vampires and other things that go bump in the night.
How do I get my kids excited about writing? Heighten their senses and write their story "on the air!"

My classroom almost always has music playing. Calming piano while reading, disco dance remix during scoot games, and other soft music while working. Music enhances the way we learn!

This past week, I wanted my students to complete a spooky story writing piece (that I also wanted to use my assessment.  I could have told them plain and simple what I wanted and to do a boring brainstorming story web. But what I did INSTEAD, ended up producing ABSOLUTELY AMAZING stories from all my students - even my reluctant writers!

How to enhance your writing by heightening the senses

1. Put on some mood music (in this case, it was instrumental Halloween music from youtube)
2. Invite them to the carpet in a low voice, with the music playing and lights dimmed.
3. Communicate expectations
      In this case, I wanted them to write a spooky story where they HAD to include a ghost named Leopold, the number 1934 or 2478, a problem or mystery that had to be solved. Students were also expected to  have an awesome opening sentence and fantastic closing.

4. For about 2-3 minutes, I had the students close their eyes and start imagining their story (music being turned louder and softer throughout this time)

5. Then, I had the students "float around the room" like ghosts. I would shout, "stop and tell!" Students would tell their story to someone for about 45 seconds. I would stop them and then they would float and tell someone again. The third time, they only share their opening sentence. The fourth time, just the mystery in the story. And lastly, how the problem was solved. Essentially, they talked to about 4-5 people about their story.

6. Then they were ready to write!

The music was turned on, softer this time. Students got right to work and wrote for almost an hour straight! They were so excited and passionate to write more and more!

I've never had students get so excited to get going on their stories! I started using more music and mood setting exercises in the classroom when it's time to write and it's been well working so far!
Give it a go and heighten your students' senses before writing!

Classroom Environments

Classroom Environments! Teachers spend hours and days on end trying to put together the perfect classroom that will support rich learning experiences, speak to a variety of learning styles and represent their style!

Personally, I can't get ANYTHING done planning wise until I've set up the perfect classroom environment. This year, I worked hard to design a classroom environment that supports mental wellness. No unnecessary clutter on the shelves and no commercial "poster pals" on the walls!  My colour themes are slick but calm. I was also mindful to not use too many bright colours that competed for a child's attention.

My classroom incorporates lots of pillows and comfortable seating spots for children to learn and work. I've also purchased some positive quote frames to help support mental wellness and build positivity and self-confidence. "Living Room Chic" is the environment that works for us in Room 17.

Furthermore, all the grade 4/5 teams are doing a Hollywood theme this year! I've incorporated some "Hollywood" aspects into my classroom without going Hollywood "cheesy."

It's been a while....

Well, hasn't life gotten busy! As the school year got away from me and I headed back to University to begin working on my Post-Bac in School Leadership, I came to realize that my blog has been lacking some posts!

I've started up a separate blog to begin incorporating some ideas in school leadership.

As we're all beginning to think about kicking off a new school year, I'm looking forward in doing the same! As I move rooms this year, leave my grade 2/3 classroom and unlock the door to my grade 4/5 classroom - lots has to be done!

Stay tuned for some classroom reveal pictures as that's always my first and foremost priority when setting up our learning space for the year!
N

It's Not A "Techie" Thing

As I started putting the finishing touches on my "Global Classrooms" presentation for a PD session I was hosting Monday, I sat back and felt something wasn't right. I looked over my slides and topics and it just didn't feel....complete. I didn't have a total feeling of getting my "inner message" across.

I didn't feel accomplished at the fact that my message of using google hangouts, Skype, global projects, padlets, - so on and so forth- is NOT an EXTRA thing teachers need to do.

Using these tools in the classroom are simply just that - tools. Teachers who believe that incorporating (or adding) any of the above mentioned tools to their teaching repertoire is EXTRA work and something they need to ADD to their "To Do List," simply still have trouble accepting the changes and shifts in education today.

Todays classrooms are global. We have the beauty of throwing textbooks out the window, knocking down our walls and learning about different communities by actually talking to them!

Some look at these teachers that have blogs, are on Twitter, Instagram and collaborate with other classrooms across the globe as "techie's, keeners, geeks." Well, I am quite happy at the fact that I'm all of the above; since using social media in education and opening up your students to a world of possibilities through collaborative global projects isn't a techie thing... it's a GOOD teaching thing!

So, what's left? I added this last visual to my presentation slides:

But placed it at the beginning :)


All we need to do is start having those conversations about what good teaching looks like in 2015 (for now). And it's exactly what a lot of great teachers are doing out there..... Connecting your students to the globe to give them the best possible learning experience you can give them. It's giving them the opportunities to connect, collaborate, think critically, be creative and innovative.

To the teachers who are doing all these great things - Cheers & Salut!
To the teachers who haven't dabbled in these "techie" things just yet... let's help you get started! Don't be afraid to ask for help. We don't byte ;)
-N

My New-Found Love with Padlets!

So, I might be a little late on my game with this one, but once I saw what John @room_ten was doing with his students using Padlets I thought, "This is awesome!"
What a great way to shake up shared writing by having other people across the globe "share the pen...or the keyboard; whichever!"

We first received an invite to add our favourite books to Centennial School's "I Love to Read Wall" for their I Love to Read Celebration. I then thought that the idea was pretty neat, so I created a simple padlet to start. We generated our "Questions About Canada" on sticky notes a few weeks back and posted them onto our bulletin board.

The other night I secretly typed my students' questions up onto a padlet and surprised them with it yesterday!



They were so excited to find out that other people (outside of our school) could add to our padlet and that others could share what they knew, with us!

Some students even went home and did a little research with their families, and added their answers to the padlet. Our padlets are easily accessible through our classroom blog with a page tabbed "padlets."

I think we've just tipped our toes into a exciting and different experience....where students are so excited about school and their learning that they contribute to their learning from home in a more meaningful way!

I'm liking where this is heading :)
-N

Created with Padlet

Of Course You Can Bring Your Board Games!!

Recently I began telling my students that for "Fun Fridays" (the last two periods) they can bring board games from home. At first, I'm sure there were some eyebrows raised as to why my students can bring games to school - especially when in September, I had a special section in my classroom outline indicating: "Dear Parents: please do not send any toys or games with your child to school. Thanks! (BOLD and underlined).


One day on a whim, I had my students bring in a game one of the last days in December for something a little "extra" they could do during their choice time.

Choice time is always an interesting time to conduct observations and look and students' social interactions. There would be a group at Lego, a few kids drawing and the occasional group wandering about switching from activity to activity. I started to think that maybe I just didn't have enough games for them in the room to keep them interested. So...bring a board game from home was a new idea. I figured maybe something different and enew might peak their interested and they would be more attentive (aka: cause less wandering and moving from choice to choice).

Well, what have I found with my little "Bring a Board Game To School" experiment????  LOTS!

There are so many social skills being developed through board games that looking back, I would make it a routine event every Friday from the beginning.

My students were so excited for so many reasons!

For the students who brought in the game (maybe 2 - 4 kids per week)
- they felt proud that they had this game to share with their peers
- they could talk about the game, describe the rules, explain what happens if, etc.
- sharing with others & providing a fun experience for their peers

For students who were enjoying the board games:
- they learned how to play something new / acquire a new skill
- trying something new / taking risks
- encouraged students to play with different kids (mixed groups)
- assist in cleaning up (providing help and support to student who brought the game)
- active listening
- thanked the students who brought in their game to share with others

For all students:
- positive social play and interaction
- sharing
- respect for other peoples' property
- turn taking
- learning how to agree, disagree, ask questions, seek clarification
- learning new skills required by the game (counting, problem solving, critical thinking, etc).

As a teacher, this is a great way for me to jump in and PLAY with the kids!
I loved kicking back, enjoying a few laughs (all part of that personal connection and relationship with kids)!
It was also helpful for me to assist others who needed modelling for positive social interaction.


I know that I defnitely look forward to Board Game Fridays - so, I'm sure my kids do to!
With all the learning that takes place- it would be silly not to! :)
-N

Cheers to 2015!

Hello Everyone!
It's been quite some time since I've posted last! The past few months have been QUITE BUSY with some new side projects at work and an amazing honeymoon in the Caribbean!

Not only was it a relief to get away from the Winnipeg winter weather, but we explored so many different places, had some new adventures (like a 30ft helmet dive underwater in St. Maarten's) and soaked up A LOT of sun!

All in all, we were excited to get home and see our families and tell them how we are officially addicted to cruises! We're already planning the next one. 

So clearly, being all re-energized from this cruise I was excited to get back to work and start up again with the kiddos!

I'm excited as I look ahead to 2015! I anticipate 2015 will bring some new and exciting challenges and opportunities its way! One of those opportunities will be to get the creative juices flowing by making a more consistent commitment to blogging, for my own self-reflective teaching practices. 

I've missed my sharing and reflecting the past few months and need to get back on track with it. I'm reminded of a quote below where not only do we need to better ourselves, but inspire out students to better themselves; a self-reflective ripple, if you will. 

Last but not least, I am also excited to share that I will be launching by first Teachers Pay Teachers Store!

"Cantafio's Creations"' is set to open the last week of January on TpT and will host many freebies along with a few paid items. I'm finding a true love and flair with digital design and "making things pretty." I'm hoping to add a new resource every week to the store.  Feel free to share the link with others!  

Amazing Race Winnipeg

It started off as another wild idea (as most of my ideas usually do). As a true Amazing Race Canada fan, I loved sitting back with a bowl of popcorn and watch groupS of adventurous Canadians battle through extreme challenges and road blocks as they traveled through our beautiful country.

When creating our "Lakewood is Happy" video last spring, it amazed me of how much of our unique city, our kids don't get the chance to see. Heck, I haven't even seen a lot of these places.

I was sitting back one day thinking... how amazing would it be to load up a bus of kids and run around exploring the city of Winnipeg... PRETTY AMAZING!

It started off with a wild idea that I brought to my dear friend and colleague, @syard2. In absolute no time, and I mean, literally that day, we had started drafting locations, times, routes and letters to send to different locations around Winnipeg.

Within the next 3 weeks, we emailed, phoned and corresponded with a variety of different locations. All that responded with: Yes! Of course you can stop off here... I wish I was in your class - this sounds amazing!

The best part.. the kids had NO IDEA where we were taking them. As we stayed up until 12:30am the Friday before, we created official clues that students had to figure out so that they could get to the next location. During bus travel times, we had created a "route information" folder that where shared different facts and information about the location we were going to. But.. sometimes..we also had ROAD BLOCKS! Students were given yes/no cards and they had to guess whether or not the fact/statement we shared was true or false.

Not only did we, as teachers HAVE SO MUCH FUN PLANNING & GOING ON this adventure, our STUDENTS had even MORE FUN.. and most importantly REALLY GOT TO KNOW THEIR CITY! What better way to learn the curriculum than by jumping on a bus and exploring their Winnipeg community.

We also didn't realize that we'd be taking parents on our field trip! As we tweeted out our clues and locations throughout the day, parents and everyone in their office were following along with us! They would comment and make guesses for different locations. One parent stated "that the whole office was asking where they were headed to next and to keep them updated as they went into a meeting!"
A TRUE FIELD TRIP FOR ALL!


We have to of course thank our administrator for letting us "run with this amazing (and wild) idea!"

We also need to thank:
- Tony's Team Transport and our bus driver Robert
- Ace Burpee, LTI and Chrissy Troy from Virgin 103 Radio
- The Manitoba Museum and its staff
- The Royal Canadian Mint and its staff
- The Legislative Building (and our amazing tour guide Daisy)
- The Winnipeg Airport (and its staff)

It took a lot of planning, A LOT! ... but it was absolutely SO WORTH IT in every single way!

As students reached their final pit stop, they were exhausted .... but also excited. Many of them thanked us for an exciting day and for creating this adventure for them.



CLICK HERE FOR OUR ANIMOTO VIDEO (video coming soon.....check back last week of Nov)



Until next time.... :)
-N

SAGE Reflections

After several months of planning with @ZBettess SAGE was finally underway! Reflecting on this day is important to me as an educator because it's the one day that educators all over Manitoba can connect, collaborate and share!

 I was very fortunate that we were able to bring in leading educators such as: @bluebomber6, @msmclauchlan, @sorokowskij, @room_ten, @amckiel, @jennmarieco, @MLBertram and @Cheri_L_Banks ! A fully locked and loaded team who shared amazing concepts, lessons, projects and topics with our 40 participants!

It is important to remember that technology is just the tool that we connect with. It is not a separate entity! When we take part in global projects and make connections with other classrooms, students are learning so much more beyond the Manitoba Curriculum! 

Listening to our team of presenters (along with myself and co-organizer, @ZBettess) made me think about how many great teachers are out there, sharing and inspiring other teachers. 

These are the reasons why this day is important. SAGE is important so that "the inspired" can continue to inspire. That the "leaders" and "collaborators" are sharing with those wanting to learn and take the initiatives to lead back at their own school. 

@680CJOB, the only thing that Manitoba Teachers were "raking" on Friday... Were new innovative ways to inspire, energize and connect our Manitoba Children to a world of possibilities. 

N

The Power of Co-Teaching

When fellow friend and classroom neighbour, @syard2 said "let's plan one period a cycle together with our classrooms" - I thought GREAT! We'll do some stories, an art project or two......

Who knew how powerful co-teaching was. In the past, we always tried our best to plan similar activities to ensure we were using common samples for assessment and to inform our instruction. We would casually chat about similar topics and when we were teaching what themes - but once we actually started teaching together - side by side in front of both our classrooms - that's when I truly began to realize the power of what we were doing ... and wondering... WHAT TOOK US SO LONG TO DO THIS?!

After about a week or two trying out our "1 period per cycle" we started realizing that we wanted to plan more detailed projects and activities. We found that both our kids became....both our kids - so to speak. Her students would come up to me telling me things in the morning; just like my kids would go see her and tell them about their weekend. Our students started hanging out more at recess and we realized that we had not only built "community" within our classrooms separately, but we also built "a Room 14&15 community"- a joint community that shared and worked together. Our kids felt comfortable with each other and the opposite teacher.

So we decided- "we have to do more of this!" 

When we sat down last week talking about what the students got out of our co-teaching, but then we started reflecting what we each got out of this new plan. We found ourselves listing nothing but positives!

Teaching next to another teacher is not only double the learning for our students, but its' double the learning for us as teachers. I'm seeing different ways to introduce things. I find the way @syard1 has a knack for higher-level questioning with students. She sneaks it in, in the perfect moment!
It was a lightbulb reminder "Oh yeah, I need to beef that up a little with my kids." I am a huge believer that teachers learn from each other - and that's exactly what co-teaching is giving me - more learning!

Our co-teaching/co-planning has come so far in 2 short months that we're already planning several activities a week together with our classrooms and...a massive field trip that kids could only dream of! We're both partaking in the #gra14 (Global Read Aloud) project and completing supporting activities together.

Co-planning --- essentially 2 heads ARE better than 1.. and you get things prepped quicker! I used to spend 2+ hours a week planning and prepping materials for the following week, ensuring I had everything done ahead of time. With co-planning, you plan together, split up the work and bring it all back, ready for teaching!
Co-teaching allows each of us to have individual accountabilities and bring them together to give our students the best possible learning opportunities both academic and social.

Co-teaching is definitely working between Rooms 14 and 15 this year. The only thing we have struggled with thus far is the thought of...... "what took us so long to do this?!"

Don't be afraid to give it a try! :)
N