If You Can't Stand the Heat...Too Bad

Today was the first legitimately sweltering day in the classroom this spring. Our classroom is on the third floor, just above the trees that shade the classrooms below us. Once the weather cracks 75 degrees the room becomes...unpleasant.

Luckily, today we were on a field trip, so we weren't trapped in our classroom/sauna for too long. But tomorrow with the forecast predicting 87 degrees and humid, we will be on for a long and sweaty day.

This is not a new experience for my students and me. Since I started teaching I've never had the privilege of an air conditioner in my classroom. I've tried a variety of things - bringing in a water cooler, multiple fans, ice pops at the end of the day - but none are a true substitute.

The lack of AC is more than just uncomfortable, it's nonsensical and borders on inhumane. When I think of the disparity between my students and their peers in the "haves" bracket, our AC-less classroom strikes me as one of the most simply profound examples of what its like in the classrooms filled with young "have-nots". Schools like mine have to stretch every dollar, and most dollars find their way going toward technology and essential materials. AC is a luxury most high-need schools literally cannot afford.

I realize there are countless jobs out there where people are expected to work long hours without air conditioning. But is it really reasonable to expect students to focus on learning in such an environment? Based on my experience, I can offer a pretty simple answer. No, it's not.

Help Support Arts in the South Bronx!

Bronx students are creating a mural to spread awareness and fight human trafficking. Seems like a pretty good idea, right? Check out the video and please donate.

500 Nerds Walk Into a Library...

That's actually not the set up to a joke. Rather, this past Friday, 499 strangers and I participated in the New York Public Library's "Find the Future" centennial event. We didn't know much about Find the Future, other than it was an all-night scavenger hunt inside the library. We quickly learned it was much more complicated than that.

Find the Future was equal parts viral advertising campaign and interactive game. There we were, 500 strangers from across the United States, running wild through the library seeking various artifacts such as Guttenberg's bible, Mary Shelley's first draft of Frankenstein and Jack Kerouac's harmonica. Alongside the scavenger hunt, we were participating in an all-night writing event, rushing to complete a book by 6 am.

The experience worked wonderfully as a creative way to bring a diverse group of people into the library and get them excited about the library's incredible collection. More than that, the evening was a celebration of the written word and the formation of a unique, spontaneous community. In the process of it all, we were encouraged to think about our own futures.

Each of us were selected on the basis of a 140 character entry completing the prompt, "In 2021, I will be the first person to...". In the course of the evening, each of us was charged with the task of hand delivering a postcard "from the future" to another participant in the game. In this way the evening became about more than a game, and about exploring the possibilities brought about by the convergence of 500 random imaginations.

I left the event with mixed feelings about an evening based on interaction with priceless artifacts and interesting people that was basically facilitated by Smartphones. It was a bit sad the way many people, myself included, overlooked the opportunity to learn about some genuine literary gems in the rush to play the game. Overall however, my experience at the library was incredibly positive. Afterwards all I could think of was how I might apply the experience of Find the Future to my own classroom.

In theory, it seems like a simple recipe for success. Allow students to collaborate, but throw in a good measure of competition as well. Add to that the opportunity for students to create their own paths through the game, so that the experience is tailored to interests. Most of all, make it educational and fun at the same time. It all sounds simple enough in theory, now I wonder how I can make it happen in practice.

As teachers we often use games as a way to make learning fun and engaging. Whether it's Multiplication Top It or Science Jeopardy, we know the power of games in the classroom. Still, my experience on Friday night has me wondering how I could take gaming in my classroom to the next level. Is it possible to replicate Find the Future with my students? I'm not sure, but I'm hoping to give it a try.

2011 NYS Tests Post-Mortem

Wow, another two days of testing behind us, and I still can't believe how mentally exhausting it can be just to walk around and watch my students take the New York State math exam. I proctor the third grade ELL's so that also means I'm watching over some of our grade's most struggling students. This makes the experience of administering the test exceptionally harrowing.

Going into this year's English Language Arts and mathematics exams there was a lot of buzz about the increased rigor. This isn't the first time we've heard this, and in the past it hasn't exactly panned out. So, I was a little skeptical that this year's test would prove any different.

This year's ELA test didn't seem especially difficult compared to past years'. The format was different, extending over three days instead of two, and including more open responses in place of an editing passage. The open responses while simpler, were still a major improvement over the basic editing passage 3rd graders were responsible for in the past. Still, having seen the fourth grade tests, and essentially preparing my kids for something similar, I thought this year's 3rd grade ELA wasn't a huge step up in terms of difficulty.

Observing the math exams this year, I did notice an increase in the number of questions that required more critical thinking and maneuvering through a problem-solving process than in previous exams. There were multiple two-part problems and there were a few questions that tested students understanding of how to use certain math, rather than just rudimentary skills.

I was happy to see this shift, even if it may mean a harder exam, because it lessens the benefit of teaching to the test. In math in general, I feel teaching to the test is less of a problem, but still, the repetitious nature of the exams over the years has lead to score inflation and a dumbing down of mathematical thinking.

By implementing new styles of questions, including several that required students to work through multiple steps, I feel like the state is making it harder to teach through repetition, and requiring more from our students. It's a trend I hope continues, because it means we're moving towards better and more meaningful tests. In doing so, I hope we're also making"test prep" obsolete.

A Method to My Mad Minutes

Test anxiety seems to be the theme of the week for me. While I've been wondering how to ease my students' feelings of test anxiety on the New York State English Language Arts exam and next week's math test, I've been dealing with the same problem on a smaller, daily basis.

While I generally approach mathematics in the most inquiry-based, differentiated fashion I can, I also try to couple that with good old rote memorization. That means a daily "Mad Minute" at the start of each math lesson. The students have a minute to complete 30 math facts without skipping any. The idea is to build fluency. Once my students memorize these basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts, they'll have an invaluable foundation for all their future math. Right now we're practicing multiplication.

The goal is to emphasize growth over performance. The students are supposed to focus on improvement, not competition with one another. It's supposed to be a fun, quick, and simple way to develop their fundamental math skills. Too bad several of my students are having problems with either the fun, quick, or simple part, and some students are having trouble with all three.

A couple of my students just freeze up. In spite of being given a myriad of strategies (skip counting, repeated addition...) and their ability to solve multiplication number stories, they just freeze up completely. Doesn't matter if the first fact is 3 x 2 or 6 x 0, they fail. Then there's the number of students who just copy off their neighbors. Among these students, and the rest of the class, there are the students who refuse to practice their facts at home, and so are showing zero growth.

So what's the solution? This is a proven method (Proven where? Good question.) to develop students computational fluency, but the majority of students in my class don't seem to be reaping the benefits. Should I scrap it altogether? I don't want my students moving on to fourth grade adding or subtracting using their fingers, or unable to multiply quickly. Should I get rid of the time limit? That would sort of defeat the purpose of the whole exercise.

For now, I'm trying to review multiplication strategies and to give the students some time to practice their multiplication with partners right before the test. On top of that I'm giving the students two minutes instead of one. Will these slight modifications yield results? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Is There a Magic Bullet for Test Anxiety?

Not long after I wrote about my hopes for my students to feel confident and well-prepared for today's New York State English Language Arts exam, I went to bed and immediately began my own battle with test anxiety. As soon as my head hit the pillow my mind started racing with recollections of past NYS ELA exams.

What I remembered was the overwhelming feeling of helplessness, while walking around and watching certain students struggle. I remembered that quiet voice that's screaming inside your head, "No! No! Go back and re-read! The answer's right there!" or, "Please don't change your answer. Please don't change your answer." or, "Why aren't you using the strategies we practiced!"

But, ultimately, my anxiety and sleeplessness was unimportant this morning as my students entered the classroom. Finding a way to alleviate their test anxiety was my only goal. But as we went through a number of my test day rituals, I couldn't help fight the nagging question, was it all a waste of time?

The students started the day with a few Ritz crackers and juice. This was less about test anxiety, and more to make sure all my students had food in their stomachs.

After that, I tried a basic priming exercise. My students wrote the name of their favorite superhero, and a word to describe that superhero. One of my favorite's was Night Hawk and "100% Awesome". Then they wrote the name of their favorite author, and a word to describe them. Since we've been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, most students chose Roald Dahl. Finally, I had my students write one thing they're really good at.

With the priming done, it was time for one last gimmick/support. My students and I did 26 jumping jacks to get their heart rates up and blood flowing. Then a quick yoga pose (pretty much the only one I know) to relax. There are plenty of studies connecting exercise to good test scores, and some research even suggests that a little exercise right before a test can boost scores.

So, did these tricks do the trick? It's hard to tell. But, when it comes to making sure my students' performance is a result of their best work and not test anxiety I'm willing to try pretty much anything.

The Night Before the ELA

Tomorrow, at long last, the big day arrives. Months of intense preparation, building up to this standardized prep. In my classroom I operate under sort of a strange paradox, working intently to get my kids for the test, but trying to minimize it's importance, and therefore it's intimidation factor.

Still, it's hard to lighten the weight, when so many other people in the building rely on the test as a sort of go-to management tool: "If you don't pay attention you're not gonna pass that test and you're gonna be right back here in 3rd grade!" And so, there have been times that the mere mention of the test has elicited a visible shudder from my kids.

An ongoing focus of the past couple weeks then, in addition to the strategies and skills has been to remind my students of all the work they've done, the learning they've accomplished, the progress they've made. They weren't ready in September, I say, but that was eight long months ago. They're ready now.

I hope I'm right, but I hope even if I'm not, they believe me. The test will be a challenge enough, I hope anxiety and fear don't add to it.