Teaching Procedures: A MUST

Going into my first year of teaching, I assumed I'd spend the bulk of my time teaching and my students would spend the bulk of their time learning.  By and large, that is how it went down.  But what I didn't anticipate was what would go down the rest of the time.  I thought I was ready.  I thought I had it all figured out and I would be a killer teacher. I had decorated my bulletin boards, planned my first nine weeks lessons according to the school curriculum, stocked my desk with Post-It notes and Ticonderoga pencils and drank my coffee.  I was ready.  Prepared to teach.

But not, evidently, prepared to manage a class of 27 fourth graders! As I attempted to deliver my carefully and thoughtfully planned lessons, the little rugrats kept interrupting me and needing stuff. Like, they don't just sit there! They want to go to the bathroom in the middle of your lesson, or sharpen their pencil, or run out of paper, or, or...so many issues! Needless to say I grossly underestimated what it would be like. By Christmas break, I was a wreck. I knew I needed to do something, and FAST.

I remembered a required reading from my classroom management course in undergrad: The First Days of School by Harry and Rosemary Wong.  As a student I remember feeling like this book had all of the answers and it was one of the few I didn't sell back at the end of the semester.  But evidently I hadn't listened well enough because I failed to do one of the main things the book recommends: Teach procedures. Sure, I had told my students to raise their had before speaking but there were so many other little things I hadn't anticipated and therefore hadn't developed a set of procedures to address.  Since I hadn't taught my students that I wasn't comfortable with several of them on the floor at a time, they didn't know that. So I had kiddos running amok around my room. Since I didn't have a system or procedure in place for sharpening pencils, the pencil sharpener ran 24/7 and it Stressed. Me. Out. To this day I can barely tolerate the sound! We'd be in the middle of a great classroom discussion and somebody would raise their hand to sharpen a pencil. What!? Dude, we're TALKING. You don't need your pencil right now, mmkay? Collecting homework was a clumsy and time-sucking ordeal each day. SO many things about my classroom weren't going as smoothly as I'd hoped, and I couldn't stand it much longer.

Read (or re-read) this book! 

So, I dusted off my First Days of School and made a plan. I listed all of the little things that I felt distracted myself and the students from the real business of teaching and learning, then developed a set of procedures to address each. I went back to school in January, prepared to turn things around.  I approached the classroom as I should have done in August, and spent a solid two weeks teaching classroom procedures using direct instruction.  Just like you would a lesson plan.  Students want to do the right thing, they want to please you... they just have to know how.  And it was my job to let them know how, to set them (and myself) up for success. I created anchor charts and posted them around the room to remind students of the procedures.  We made T-charts and identified acceptable and unacceptable examples of classroom behavior.  I made sure they were aware of my expectations and you know what? They met them.  

Click this link for a GREAT blog post and freebie on teaching procedures from Brook Brown of the blog Teaching Outside the Box!

My classroom started working like a well-oiled machine.  Instead of random restroom requests in the middle of a lesson, students used hand signals that I could reply to with a quick nod or shake of the head.  Instead of the pencil sharpener making my ears bleed all day, students each sharpened two pencils in the morning and I provided a cup of freshly sharpened pencils for them to exchange broken pencil for throughout the day. Only two students at a time were allowed on the floor (unless we were doing something requiring more) and my students actually waited until somebody sat down to get up.  It was like MAGIC.

But I'm no magician.  I just did what a good teacher is supposed to do: I set my students up for success.  I created an environment of clear expectations and so, my students could easily meet them. Sure, it wasn't perfect.  There were some stumbles along the way and some refinements to be made.  For example, I thought that having a tray by the door for students to turn in homework each morning would take care of that issue, but I quickly found I was having more zeros this way... there was no immediate accountability for not turning in work because I was simply unaware of it until that evening. I think some kiddos felt they were "getting away with it" and so I switched up my game.   Instead, I had students place their homework in the top right corner of their desk when they arrived and at 8:15 I quickly walked by and collected each paper without saying a word. Nobody wanted to get the stink eye from me and feel the shame of not turning in their work, so they did.  It worked out!

Long story short, teach procedures.  Review them throughout the year.  Read and reread, every summer, The First Days of School so you can recalibrate yourself and refine the procedures you want in place to make your classroom the learning environment you know it can be!

Open Number Line Strategy: Addition & Subtraction

The math strategies we teach today probably feel like a foreign language to most parents.  Most parents were probably taught to use the standard algorithm for multi-digit addition and subtraction. That's pretty much the only strategy we used back in the day.  It worked, right?  Well, like I've said before... when you know better, you do better.  And we know better now.  We know that teaching students number sense and strategies based on place value before going to the shortcuts of borrowing and carrying is the way to go.

Side note: if ya DON'T know that yet, or if you are new to teaching math, you should probably read this book! It's amazing! The authors go into detail with the research behind the math, and why the shortcuts and algorithms (when used too early) we were taught don't lead the the deep kind of long-term understanding necessary for continued success in math.

But how do you explain that to parents? How can they help little Johnny with his math homework if they have no idea what we've taught him?  Communication is key! For each new strategy taught, I would send home a note (doesn't have to be a full page... can just be a slip of paper attached to the homework) explaining and demonstrating the strategy.  Another option is to make short YouTube videos of yourself working out a problem using the strategy or using an app like ScreenChomp.  Upload the videos to your school webpage, send an email with the link, or embed the link in a text using a service such as Remind.

I have some great packets in my TpT store, including a FREEBIE, for teaching two- and three-digit addition and subtraction using an open number line.  Included in those packets are strategy pages you can share with parents and students to make using the strategy simple.

Check them out! Click the thumbnail image for a link to my store. Thanks for stopping by!

FREEBIE! Data Tracking Sheets

Data... the admin's favorite word, amiright? It's all about the data these days, and ya better be tracking it!  As part of our new teacher evaluation system, showing student growth is a huge component. To help keep track of pre- and post-assessment data, I created this freebie set of data tracking sheets.   The set includes forms for the classroom and for individual students. These can be used for a variety of purposes... PLCs on data, meetings with administration about student growth,  use in data binders or during parent teacher conferences...so many options!  Click the pic to check 'em out in my TpT store! 

Data Tracking Sheets

And can we talk about those Post-Its? I found that huge set marked down at Office Depot for 9 bucks! Had been $20.  Best. Day. Ever.

Hey Y'all!

Hi guys!  My name is Brandy, and this is my blog, The Foxy Teacher. Welcome! I'll be honest... I've been very shy about posting and putting my words out there, but I suppose I'm feeling brave today because here I am:)  I figure this is my space, and I should just be myself and GO FOR IT!  Readers can choose to visit and read... or not. Right? LOL.  Either way, my goal is to produce useful, helpful content and provide some further insight in implementing the curriculum resources I produce.

Speaking of which, I am a curriculum author!  After being in education for eleven years in a variety of roles (3rd/4th grade classroom teacher,  Kindergarten interventionist, instructional coach for a primary school), in recent years I've found a passion for developing my own resources.  I love doing it because I get to flex my creative muscle while keeping my foot in the door education-wise; I am still using my degree and experience while being creative and self-directed.   Currently, I'm writing resources for primary grades but with a background in intermediate, I plan to venture out in the future and produce more of that content.

My most popular resource, the lil adjective packet that could! :)

You can find my resources on Teachers Pay Teachers (my store has my name, Brandy Shoemaker).  I LOVE TPT!  Loved it as a buyer and love it even more as a teacher-author.  What a fantastic place!  I love the way that TpT supports teachers and their precious time while enhancing the classroom experience for countless students.  I've considered offering my resources on other platforms, but I believe in TpT.  It's a good place to be:) I've had the good fortune of becoming a top 500 performing seller on the site and have recently began making the weekly top 100 Pk-2 sellers list.  I'm just blown away by the site and the success my little store has had.  If you've purchased a resource from me, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

Fan-girl game STRONG at the 2015 TpT Conference!

Besides being passionate about what I do, I'm a wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend....dog mom! I'm married to Shane, a teacher & football coach (makes me a football widow) who happens to be my high school sweetheart and best friend. I wouldn't want to do life without him by my side, and I know this for a fact:) We have two amazing teenage sons, Grant and Will, who play football, make good grades, and are new drivers (bless mama's poor heart...).  We live in the gorgeous Lake Cumberland area of south central Kentucky with our two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Lucy Greene and Kylo Ren. We basically love life and try to find joy and laughter in each day. We are so blessed!

Thank you so much for stopping by! If you read all of that, I've got a virtual cookie for you.  I hope you come back and find (among the overuse of commas, ellipses, exclamation points!) something that makes your life as an educator easier. Welcome:)