Reflecting on the first full week of school

Wow, I survived! I'm tired, and have been working 11-12 hour days, but I'm starting to feel like I might be able to get back into my study this weekend. After a short week last week, the five days this week felt a bit like a marathon, but it was pretty good. This morning, as I got a bit grumpy and short with my students first thing this morning, I knew I was tired. Thankfully I managed to get control of my mood and we ended up having a pretty good day, although those students who totally missed Fun Friday because they didn't do their homework probably didn't think so.

For the most part the week went well. Tuesday did not go at all to plan. When setting up my computer ready for the maths lesson I had planned, it kept telling me that my PowerPoint software was unlicensed, and throwing me out of the program. I tried doing a system restore, and that didn't work so I ended up having to refresh the system, which basically uninstalled everything back to a bare basic Windows set up. That meant I had to reinstall everything, including Microsoft Office and Adobe Reader. I got Adobe Reader installed, but couldn't get the computer to talk to the projector. One of the ICT teachers came down in the afternoon and tried to help, but he couldn't solve it either. Eventually I got onto the Acer website and downloaded the driver for the VGA card, and happily that solved the problem. I've still got some software that needs to be reinstalled, but at least the computer is functional again. It was a frustrating day, as I use the computer and projector for almost every Mathematics and English lesson, but I did  get through the day. I thank God that He has helped me to become more flexible, and that enabled me to adapt to the unforeseen challenges.

Once again, I was reminded that I need to show as well as tell the children exactly what they have to do, especially with things that I want done in a particular way. The prime example was homework. A few students got it from my "telling" but quite a few didn't. When I used the work of one of the students who did get it to show those who didn't get it what was required I got much better results. Part of the problem was that the document camera which I usually use for "showing" has developed a crack in one of the joints, and won't stay in position. I'm hopeful I can get a replacement for it, but also will be looking to see how I can repair/modify it so it is usable.

One thing I did manage to achieve this week was take some photos of the classroom on Monday afternoon, so you can see it now it's getting closer to being completely set up. I'd still love at least one more power outlet, preferably behind my desk, but for the time being I'm managing.

Classroom library, CAFE menu board, posters starting to go up, and storage.

This could still be a bit tidier, but most of my good boxes are now hidden away.

I love having space to walk around the mats.
With only 20 students there's one mat each, and if I get more students then there's room to add more mats!
I project onto the whiteboard, lowering the blind over the window darkens the room just enough.

I made a couple of adjustments to this area, moving my desk and turning the small shelf around,
and now it's working really well.

This is the other end of the classroom. My special needs student likes using the table in the corner, which I was going to use for the student computer, so I may need to come up with another plan for that, but at the moment it's working well. The noodles are for swimming lessons, and live in my room or they would quickly become damaged and unusable.

Weekly homework, daily timetable, and a small area for teaching above student storage.
We use the folders when I'm testing students to discourage copying.
The last five years has seen slow growth in my collection of games and puzzles to the good collection you see here.

The rest of the student storage areas, trays for books and work to be handed in,
classroom rules and management system, and the classroom jobs display.

This was one of my treats to myself this summer. These are fairly cheap in the USA but in Australia they are pretty expensive, so I make selections carefully. This year I bought this set for class jobs, and a matching set for birthdays, which I'll put up in the next week or two, once I get the information from the office (they've been crazy busy down there).

Well, that's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of the bright, spacious, new Grade 4K classroom. I'm loving it, and I think the children are too.

The CAFE Book Chapter 7 - The last

Strategy Groups

This chapter starts with a justification for strategy groups as opposed to levelled reading groups. The strategy group approach allows the reading strategy needs of students at different levels to be me through small group instruction.

Structuring and Managing Strategy Groups
The key points here were that Daily 5 needs to be up and running before I start strategy groups, and that I need to have completed individual assessment of the students so I know what they need. Even with strategy groups there will still be whole class instruction and individual conferences.

Using the Strategy Group Form.
This form helps the teacher keep track of who needs to work on what strategy, and which students can work as a group on a strategy. It is also used to keep track of progress within the group. One key point is that students can move in and out of strategy groups as they master strategies. The strategy groups support individual instruction and give students a chance to work with a buddy who is focussing on the same strategy as they are.

Strategy Groups in Action: What a Typical Morning Looks Like
The key point I noted in this section was that the timing for strategy groups is similar to that for whole group instruction. This is based on Brain-based learning and is approximately one minute for each year of the age of the children. Using this thinking, most of my strategy groups should be 9-10 minutes since I'm teaching mostly 9 & 10 year olds.

Sample Strategy Groups
Once again the principles of this chapter are made clear through detailed examples. Three examples are given: One for Accuracy with a group of Kindergartners, one for Comprehension with a group of Third Graders, and one for Expand Vocabulary with a group of Fifth Graders.

And so ends my review and notes on The CAFE book. I still have all the appendices to read, but they can be done as I need to use them. Next step is to work out what it will look like in my classroom this year. This is going to be different in some ways because of my unique situation for timetabling with our bilingual program, but I know I can make it work.

The CAFE Book Chapter 6

This chapter starts with a reminder that the order of introducing strategies isn't that important. While the four strategies introduced in Chapter 4 are foundational, the rest can be taught in any order that meets the needs of the students. Whichever strategies are chosen, it's important to keep the whole class focus lessons short, in line with brain-based learning principles. It's also important to remember that you don't just teach a strategy once and then move on. You can revisit strategies as often as needed throughout the year, with the whole class, with small strategy groups, or with individual students.

The next section provides an example of the Flip the Sound strategy lesson. One think I really liked here was the hand movement that signals the strategy. I think that will be really helpful for my kinaesthetic learners.

Whole lesson elements

1. Identify what is to be taught, and share the "secret to success" with the strategy.
2. Teach the strategy.
3. Students practise with partners.
4. Select a student to write and illustrate the CAFE menu strategy card (1st time only).
5. Review the strategy.
6. Encourage practice during independent reading times.
7. Post the strategy after independent practice.
8. Continually connect new strategies to strategies that are already on the CAFE board

Sample lessons
Four more sample lessons are provided to demonstrate a variety of strategies. These really help me see how the CAFE can work to help my students become better readers.

Something I'm also beginning to see is how I can reinforce the strategies during other lessons as well, especially science and social studies where we do quite a lot of "reading to learn".

The CAFE Book Chapter 5

Eavesdropping on Some Conferences

I thoroughly enjoyed this chapter. It does just what you might expect from the title, let's the reader see how it works. As I would say, this chapter really shows where the rubber hits the road! There are sample conferences for each of the four CAFE areas: Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary. A variety of strategies are used, with a mixture of Beginning Readers and Advanced Readers. I'm really starting to get some concrete ideas of how I can use this and make it work in my fourth grade classroom. I've also got a much better idea of how to keep the conferences brief and specific.

That's all I'm going to say about this one. If you want to know more, you'll just have to get hold of the book and read it!

The CAFE Book - Chapter 4

Conferring with Children: Principles and Examples

I'm excited about this chapter because I really have no idea what conferences with students about reading really might or should look like, as well as how to keep meaningful records and keep on top of "time". The authors promise lots of examples.

Rethinking Conference Protocols
This section provides background as well as introducing a specific structure for conferences. The focus of the conference is the child, his/her individual reading goals, and the progress he/she is making. A neat "conferring form" is provided with scaffolding and cues to help teachers like me move into conferring. A key point is that conferences are really coaching sessions, and a structure called "Coaching Toward a Target" is provided and explained in details (complete with examples).

The Seven Elements of Successful Conferences
Step 1: Check the calendar for appointments - The Calendar and the Keeping Track forms are key to ensuring every student gets the support he/she needs, including those who are more competent and more able to work independently.
Step 2: Prepare for the conference - This step involves a quick review of notes from the last conference with this child, before you get to the child, to enable the teacher to quickly and easily connect with what the individual student is working on, including what his/her personal reading goals are.
Step 3: Observe child and listen to reading - Conferences happen where the child has chosen to work. This step involves listening to the child reading and noting if and how he/she is applying strategies.
Step 4: Reinforce and teach - In this step you tell the student what you noticed about his/her reading, and ask what they have noticed. Focus on one strategy at a time, and provide individual teaching using explicit instruction and modelling. This should only take about a minute.
Step 5: Practise the strategy - Now the child has a chance to practise what you've just taught them while you're there. This gives a chance to fine tune the instruction and provide further clarification if needed.
Step 6: Plan - The planning here involves the student. This section outlines how to know if a child is ready to move on to a new strategy, and how to keep track of successfully demonstrated strategies (using the CAFE menu). This is the time to decide, with the child, what he/she will work on independently, and when you will next confer with him/her.This also helps build accountability for learning in the students.
Step 7: Encourage - We all need encouragement. Remember to give specific encouragement about the progress that has been made, and to reiterate the key teaching point of the conference.

In summary, the key is that short, focused conferences regularly will help children become better readers much more effectively than longer irregular conferences.

The CAFE Book - Chapters 2 and 3

Chapter 2 - The CAFE Notebook and Record-Keeping Forms

Keeping records about children's progress is something I've not done particularly well to date, especially anecdotal records, so I found this chapter really helpful. It starts with the story of how the authors found a system and format that worked for them, and gives me lots of ideas and resources and freed to find what will work for me and my students. Initially it talks about where to store all these great notes, and then it gets on to what is inside.

The first section of the notebook is really big picture stuff. It includes things like a calendar (to schedule student conferences & small group meetings), a form for tracking those conferences by student (to make sure everyone gets the help they need and no-one gets missed out), and a form for tracking groups of students working on the same goals/strategies. The bonus is that pdfs of all the forms are provided on the accompanying CD.

The second section has dividers for each individual child with their personalised copy of the CAFE menu and Reading and Writing Conference Forms. Looks like I'm going to be looking for some kinds of binder that will become my "notebook".

Chapter 3 - CAFE Step-by-Step: The First Days of School

This chapter does just what the title says. It provides a step-by-step guide to introducing the CAFE to students, especially in the early days of school.

The first item introduced is "C" for comprehension, along with the definition "I understand what I read". The first strategy introduced is "Check for Understanding" and the authors suggest using picture books for these lessons.

After a break, maybe a time of building stamina, another strategy from a different section of the menu is introduced, using another picture book. The example give is "A" for accuracy, using the Cross-Checking Strategy.

Depending on the classroom schedule, another heading and strategy might be introduced later in the day, such as "Tune In To Interesting Words" under the "E" for expanding vocabulary section.

Each time a strategy is introduced it is named explicitly for the students and posted on the CAFE Display board. Each time a strategy is reviewed, the display is referred to.

Over the first few days, the authors recommend four core strategies be taught and reviewed several times, with repeated modelling and anchoring to the CAFE menu. Using the Daily 5 structure, students will have lots of opportunities to practise the strategies as they build stamina for working independently.

The next part of the CAFE program is moving to Individual Conferences, and using assessment to inform instruction. A seven step process is provided to guide the reader through this. An example of what each step might look like is provided. Finally, some encouragement for those of us who are a bit apprehensive of trying new things - you don't have to get it perfect the first time. It won't hurt students to practise a strategy they are already good at, and you can always give them something new at the next conference. It's OK for the teacher to learn along the way too! :)

The CAFE Book - Chapter 1

Introduction: 
The Beginnings of the CAFE Menu Assessment System

I just love the honesty of the two sisters in writing both of these books. The first chapter of this, their second book, highlights something I've struggled with since I began classroom teaching. How do I fully use reading assessments to inform my teaching, and especially to differentiate so my teaching supports the individual needs of my students. It's really encouraging to know that I'm not alone in that struggle. CAFE is an acronym for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary. These headings cover a huge variety of reading strategies, and are used to develop a menu of choices for students to use. The idea of a menu of choices also fits perfectly with the Daily 5 structure, which gives students choices about when they complete various activities.

Having just completed the Developmental Continuums for reading and writing required by my school, I'm painfully aware of a major deficit in my teaching and record keeping, especially when it comes to reading strategies. How can students tell me what strategies they are using if I don't name and teach specific strategies? I'm already hopeful that the CAFE system will help me do a better job of both tasks, and also help me to better meet the needs of my diverse students.

There are four core parts to the CAFE system. The first is the teacher's notebook. Next come individual conferences, followed closely by small group instruction in flexible groups. Finally we have whole group instruction, focussing on skills whole class/group need.

Also in this chapter, the authors give a brief overview of some of the research that has informed their development and implementation of the CAFE system. This included both reading other people's research and their own practical day-to-day action research. It was encouraging to notice some names that appear in my textbooks for the coming semester.

The chapter ends with comments which highlight the freedom to adapt the system to meet the needs of each individual setting which it is used in. It also reminds the reader that, as with most teaching strategies, it is a work in progress, and that's OK. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book and discovering how I can better meet the needs of my students and challenge them to become better readers and writers.

Exploring the Daily 5 - Chapter 9

Returning to our Core Beliefs

The final chapter of The Daily 5 addresses specific groups or individuals within the classroom and how these are dealt with, from a foundation of community, accountability, trust, and respect.

Barometer Children
This term is applied lovingly to those children who have a major impact on classroom climate. These children will usually require additional support to build stamina, but not necessarily every round or even every day. Four levels of support are suggested. Some children will only ever need level 1 support, while others will need level 3 or 4 support regularly. Foundational is the belief that, with appropriate support, every child can be successful.
Level 1: Reflection
I really appreciated this section. It reminded me of the need to look first at my own behaviour, and that things that I control, to ensure I am doing all I can to help these students be successful. It's about me taking time to reflect, as well as to check on a few things such as "Good Fit Books". Sometimes I might even need my own goal sheet to ensure my tone with students is positive and that I'm giving appropriate, timely, positive feedback.
Level 2: Extra Support
This level provides a respectful opportunity for children to get some extra practice at building stamina. While it does involve recess time, it's only a few minutes, since these children are often those who need recess the most. This level of support will help identify if further support is really needed.
Level 3: In-Class Modifications
This section provides details of ways to help specific children develop their stamina, acknowledging that it may take them longer to build stamina than some of the other children. It also allows for their shorter stamina without breaking the stamina of those who can work independently for longer periods. Tools such as sand timers, stop watches, kinaesthetic materials, and alternative reading materials are used, as well as individual stamina charts. Eventually the additional tools will not be needed, but there should always be the opportunity for students to return to the tools if necessary.
Level 4: Gradual Release of In-Class Modifications
This level is about providing additional "check-ins" with specific children during a round. This works well when the teacher moves from group to individual or individual to individual, rather than having students move to the teacher. Essential to this working is believing the best of our students even when their behaviour isn't perfect.

Guest Teachers
This section provides a sample lesson plan that can be quickly adapted for any planned or unplanned absence. It provides enough detail for any teacher to follow and allows students to support the teacher through well-established routines.

New Students to the Class
This section provides valuable tips on what to do when a new student joins a class part way through the year. Buddies are a key strategy, and new students also provide an ideal opportunity to review the Daily 5 I-charts with the whole class. When new students have lower stamina, this gives the teacher an ideal chance to do assessments with the new student, and to teach core lessons like how to choose Good-Fit books.

Parents
This section is about communicating the Daily 5 with parents. It includes a sample letter to parents to introduce them to The Daily 5.

Trusting Our Students and Our Teaching
This section reminded me that I don't have to get it all right first time, and that's OK. It highlights that I may not see evidence of learning in the same way as I have in the past, but I will see it in new, exciting, and authentic ways. I love the following comment from the authors:

"Our children help us learn to trust our teaching and prove that they deserve to be trusted to be independent. Our students rise to our high expectations, they meet high standards, and they willingly accept the responsibility to do so." (p.157)

So now you will have to wait until August 2014 when I get the chance to have a go at introducing The Daily 5 into my classroom here in Phnom Penh. Meanwhile, my next project is to thoroughly investigate The Cafe Book and see how I can use that alongside The Daily 5 in my classroom, using the resources I need to as part of our school wide curriculum.

For more of my reflections on "The Daily 5", check out these posts
Chapter 1: That Was Then, This is Now: How the Daily 5 Evolved.
Chapter 2: Our Core Beliefs: The Foundations of the Daily 5
Chapter 3: The 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence
Chapter 4: What do you need to begin?
Chapter 5: Launching Read to Self - The First Daily 5
Chapter 6: Foundation Lessons
Chapter 7: When to Launch the Next Daily 5
Chapter 8: The Math Daily 3

Exploring the Daily 5 - Chapter 8

The Math Daily 3

"The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated but to make complicated things simple." Stanley Gudder (p.121)

Having seen the success of the Daily 5 in literacy, the authors began using the 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence in other curriculum areas. The next step was to apply the same principles of providing appropriate independent practise for students and opportunities for the teacher to work with individuals and small groups needing extra support, to mathematics. There was also a desire to provide students with activities that would lead to deeper understanding and problem solving. After refining the framework over time, what is presented in this chapter is the Math Daily 3:

• Math by Myself
• Math Writing
• Math with Someone.

The activities for Math by Myself and Math with Someone provide practice on both current and recently completed units. Math Writing allows students to express their thinking and understanding through problem solving and problem writing.

Math Daily 3 Structure
As you would expect, Math Daily 3 uses a similar structure to the Daily 5, with short 7-10 minute focus lessons broken up by independent work time. The whole group lessons come from the school's math program, so Math Daily 3 can work whatever the program. With three focus lessons, the suggestion is the first lesson teaches the concept (I show), the next lesson is guided practice (we do), and the third lesson is problem solving related to the concept.

Math Daily 3 Overview
This section provides a sample lesson plan using the Daily 3. It helps me understand how I could break my lessons down into brain-friendly chunks for my students. It will definitely work with Go Maths.

What Do You Need to Begin Math Daily 3
While it is suggested that the Math gatherings take place in a different location to Literacy, that's not going to happen in my classroom. I simply don't have enough space. Another challenge is going to be wall space, but that can be overcome. One of the things I noted was that Math Daily 3 requires lots of materials such as manipulatives, dice, game boards, small whiteboards, etc. I'm sure I'll get creative as I find and organise these things. Specific suggestions for organising the various materials are provided, but it's really a matter of exploring options and finding out what works for me and my students.

Teaching the Foundation Lessons of Math Daily 3
This is a reminder of the Foundation Lessons from the Daily 5. One very important lesson, especially for Math with Someone and Math by Myself, is setting up and cleaning up materials.

Launching Math by Myself
Each Math by Myself activity will need to be taught as a focus lesson. This section gives a step-by-step demonstration of the 10 Steps as they apply to mathematics.

Teaching the Foundation Lessons: Math Writing
Math Writing is going to require some planning for me to implement. It is about students expressing their thinking and understanding using words, numbers and pictures. I need to clarify my thinking on this part of the program before I launch it.

Launching Math Writing
Again, the launch process involves creating an I-chart and this section provides details on the core behaviours and timing as well as introducing choice.

Launching Math With Someone
The foundation lesson, "How to Choose a Partner" is essential for Math with Someone. Each activity will also need to be taught. I already have a great source of activities for this options with the Go Maths Book of Facts and Fundamentals books. Once stamina is guilt, along with a variety of activities, choice can be extended to include Math With Someone.

The concluding paragraph highlights how students have experienced increased success in mathematics through tailored instruction and independent practice.

Some personal reflection
I'm thinking that I won't try to implement Math Daily 5 straight away, and maybe not even this year, until I get my head around using the Daily 5 and how I can make that work in my classroom. This isn't because I don't think it will work, I think it will, but rather because I know my limits when it comes to change. Introducing Daily 5 is going to make some pretty substantial changes in my classroom next year, and I need to be realistic about how much change I can cope with without overloading myself.

For more of my reflections on "The Daily 5", check out these posts
Chapter 1: That Was Then, This is Now: How the Daily 5 Evolved.
Chapter 2: Our Core Beliefs: The Foundations of the Daily 5
Chapter 3: The 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence
Chapter 4: What do you need to begin?
Chapter 5: Launching Read to Self - The First Daily 5
Chapter 6: Foundation Lessons
Chapter 7: When to Launch the Next Daily 5

Something to think about ...

Tonight, as I was enjoying some Facebook time and catching up on blogs that I follow, I was delighted by this post. Please take a moment to read her post before you continue reading this one.

As I read Kara's reflections, it prompted me to think about the children I will be teaching this year. Each child who will come into my class this year is unique. He or she will bring his or her own special qualities, gifts, and needs. Each one has been placed in my classroom for a reason. I do not know what that reason is, but I do know that God will show me during the course of the year.

Teaching is a privilege and a huge responsibility. It was said today, that in Cambodian culture teachers are seen as just as important to children as parents, and at times even seen as "second parents". What a trust is placed on us.

As I start this year, I pray that God will lead me to know how He wants me to meet the individual needs of the children in my care. I pray that I will be open to His leading and guidance. I pray that I will be sensitive to their needs. I pray all this knowing that as I endeavour to lead and teach the children I will also be learning. I learn so much from the children in my care. I thank God for the privilege of serving Him and them in this way.

I also thank Him for those who pray for me! This is not a job I can tackle in my own strength. No way! It is His task, and I seek His strength, enabling, and patience to do the very best job that I can do, in His strength. I pray too that they will see Him in me.

Learning about Biomes

One of the interesting parts of moving to a new grade level, is getting to know the new curriculum requirements. This year, I've had some fun, developing material to help my students learn about various topics. We've just finished a unit on Biomes. Now when I first heard that we were to study "biomes", I'll admit that I didn't really know what a biome was. I think I know a bit more now, and hopefully my students know a lot more.

Rather than try and direct teach a topic that I wasn't really familiar with, I decided to set up some project-based learning, using a variety of multiple intelligence tasks, where each small group of students would study one biome in depth, and then at the end of the unit they would teach the rest of the class about their biome.

Generally the students were enthusiastic, although they weren't all thrilled about the groups I'd put them in. Sometimes I let students choose their own groups, but for this project I assigned the groups. They then had to choose 8 tasks to complete out of 27, one from each group. They also had 8 key questions that they needed to answer. Finally they had to present their biome to the rest of the class.

Some groups did really well, and one group actually completed 10 tasks. Other groups didn't do so well, and their progress (or lack thereof) taught me a valuable lesson. When you are managing small groups it is really important to factor in regular briefings with each group.

On Friday, it was presentation day, and after 3 days of planning, preparing, and practising it was all systems go. Ooops, didn't get the computer and projector working together properly before I started. Should know better than that! Never mind, we eventually solved that problem. Oh no, now the electricity is out! Life's like that, we'd better keep going as best we can. Hooray, recess time. Let's have a break and play Math games after recess until the power comes back on. Fun, and good practise of our division strategies too. Power's on! Let's get these presentations finished in time for swimming. Way to go, Grade 4.

Yes, they all did a good job. Some did better than others, but that's to be expected. Overall, the class showed that they had learned a lot about biomes, and also reminded us of some of the things we need to do to care for our environment.

The teacher learned some valuable lessons too. The main lessons were about managing group work better, and about planning project based learning so that all students cover all the essential points. Will I do it again next year? Yes, but with a major rewrite of the activities, and also a little more direct teaching at the start of the unit.

The ultimate question remains. Did the children learn? Yes! They learned content, and they also learned about working together. Several students also discovered that the presentations weren't that hard when they were prepared and practiced, and I know they will be more confident next time they need to do a presentation.

And now it's time for our next adventure in learning together! Inventions and Inventors. This is going to be lots of fun.

Just thinking ...

It's been a while since I wrote a reflective post, but this week I've been doing quite a bit of reflecting. I guess writing report cards can have that effect.

I wrote all the comments about a month ago, before all the grades were finalised (this is necessary to facilitate translation into Khmer), so this week has seen a massive effort to finalise grades. The task was complicated by the death of a flash drive, taking with it much of the electronic grading that I had done (and which I hadn't backed up onto my hard drive - silly me). Fortunately, in most cases, I had a hard copy of the grades as well. Anyway, it's done now, but as I mentioned, it did motivate me to do some reflection as well.

How would I score if my students had to give me a report card. Maybe I should ask them? It would be interesting to see what they think. Meanwhile, how do I think I'd do.

Our grading system is fairly simple: 4 = Good, 3 = Satisfactory, 2 = Acceptable, and 1 = Needs Improvement. The key premise is that if a student is doing everything you ask them to do, then they get a 4.

So here are the categories and how I'd grade myself:

• Respects teachers and friends: 3
• Presentation of work: 4
• Organisation of work: 4
• Completion of work: 4
• Completion of homework: 3
• Attitude: 4
• Behaviour: 4
• Punctuality: 4

Hmmm! Now why doesn't the teacher get all fours. Well, the short answer is, that I'm not perfect. I praise God that I'm a work in progress. One area that God has been particularly nudging me on over the last month or two is the respect issue (not for teachers and friends, but for my students). I love my students very much, and generally speaking I'm fairly respectful of them. I treat them kindly and acknowledge their differences. I do my best to listen to them, and to be fair in my interactions with them. There are times though, when I'm less than respectful. Sometimes I don't give them a chance to explain why they did something they shouldn't have been doing. Sometimes I get impatient with them, when it's really not their fault. Sometimes I embarrass them in front of their classmates. Sometimes my tone of voice is harsh and unkind. I don't shout at them, but I'm not soft and gentle with them either. Do I like that I'm like this? No way!!! That sort of behaviour does not reflect Jesus well, and I truly need to be aware that for many of these students "You're the only Jesus, some will ever see."

As for completion of homework - I'm very good at procrastinating over grading some pieces of assessment, so that's an area that I need to work on. I'm way better than I used to be, but there's still room for improvement.

So where to from here. I thank God that He gently leads us to reflect on those things He wants to change in us. I know I'm a perfectionist, but I also know I'm not perfect. This week, my prayer as I start each day will be the same: Please Lord, help me show You to the children in all my actions and interactions. Please help me to be quiet and gentle with the students while still giving them clear boundaries and reasonable consequences. Please Lord, help me to be more patient.

That last line is a dangerous one. So often we hear that God has answered it by placing people in situations that further test and refine their patience rather than just magically making them more patient. I've got several situations that are testing me in that area already, so I'm also going to be trusting Him, in line with 1 Corinthians 10:13, not to give me more than I can handle in His strength.

So that's the "Behavioural and Work Habits" part of the report card. There's usually more to report cards than that. You're right. Next come the specialist subjects, which are simply graded on Listening and Participation, and finally there are sections for four of the five key academic areas (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies). English Language Arts and Mathematics are divided by content areas plus a grade for effort, while Science and Social Studies we grade on Effort, Understanding of Concepts and Ability to Discuss concepts.

The specialist subjects are graded by the teachers who teach them, so the only one I have to worry about there is swimming, and fortunately most of my students love swimming, so it's not hard. Completing the academic section of the report cards always leads me to reflect on how I'm assessing students, and sometimes that leads to changes in assessment and record keeping practices. Each time I do it, I can usually find some way of making the record keeping more helpful for the report card writing! I think I've done that, so we'll see what happens next semester, whether my ideas were helpful or just a pain in the neck to keep up with. I'm hoping they'll be helpful.