Monday Motivator #19 2020-21

 

The Perfect 5-Minute Exercise Break For Students And Teachers

https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2021/01/29/the-perfect-5-minute-exercise-break-for-students-and-teachers/

January 29, 2021 by Michael Linsin

A short exercise break can relieve boredom, improve thinking, and reverse the negative health effects of sitting.

To be most effective, however, it must be purposeful.

It must be targeted in a way that increases your heart rate yet stimulates every muscle in the body.

Here at SCM, we’ve got you covered.

What follows is the perfect 5-minute workout. Anyone can do it, at just about any age, and just about anywhere.

It’s gentle, low impact, and will leave you and your students feeling refreshed, revived, and ready to tackle the rest of the day.

Note: Instead of counting repetitions, do each exercise for one minute with no break between sets.

Twist

With your feet shoulder-width apart, turn the upper and lower body—shoulders and hips—to the right and to the left. Let your arms hang loose and move centrifugally as you shift your weight from one leg and to the other.

While twisting (to the left, for example), bring your heel up on the opposite (right) leg as your knee points down. As you progress, twist farther and farther around until you’re nearly looking behind you.

The Twist is a great exercise to begin with because it feels good after long sitting. It slowly warms the body and prepares it for the next, more challenging exercise.

Wring

From a shoulder-width stance, lift your left knee as your right elbow crosses and descends to meet it. Set the left leg back down, right arm at your side, and do the same on the opposite side.

Try to touch your elbow to your knee on each rep, going back and forth while keeping your head steady. Each repetition should take between one and two seconds.

The wring is a standing ab exercise that works the lower, middle, and upper sections of the abdominal wall while also increasing your heart rate.

Shove

Starting with your feet together and hands positioned an inch or two in front of your shoulders—like you’re at the bottom of a push-up—take a big step to your left with your left foot and drive your arms straight out in front of you.

Pull your left foot and hands back to starting position and then do the same with your right side. Move smoothly back and forth while driving your arms powerfully to each side.

The exercise involves the larger muscles of the back and legs and thus will push your heart rate to a higher level. To make the exercise more challenging take bigger steps.

Circle

Straddle your legs two shoulders-width apart while placing your hands on your hips. While keeping your back straight, lean over to your left so your head is above your left foot.

Now begin circling toward the front, then over to the right, then around to the back, and then back over to the left where you began. Continue circling at a moderate pace, then reverse and circle in the opposite direction.

This exercise works the core, both stretching and strengthening, but also engages the legs, glutes, and lower back.

Ski

Narrow your feet so they’re 3-4 inches apart and bring both arms straight out in front of you. Ball your fists like you’re holding ski poles.

Now, drive your imaginary poles deep into the snow as you swing your arms down and behind you and then back up again. Simultaneously, pulse the knees up and down with the rhythm of your arms.

To make the exercise more challenging and/or to finish the workout strong, drive the poles harder while bending your knees lower. The exercise works primarily the arms and legs, but also the shoulders, back, and chest.

Note: Click here to watch a demonstration video of the workout.

Technique is Important

Although your students will benefit regardless of how well they perform the exercises, it’s important to focus their attention on proper technique.

This does several things.

First, focused movement is meditative and will clear their mind of unwanted stress and tension. Second, it conditions your students to do everything in your classroom in a certain, very specific way, which is one of the secrets to great classroom management.

And third, focusing on technique makes the workout more effective and will guard against the inclination to cut corners and give less effort.

I’ve used the same rotation of exercises as a warm-up for high school PE, but they’re also simple and gentle enough for kindergarten or even pre-K students.

If you wish, run through the exercises twice for a better, more complete workout and a calmer class.

Monday Motivator #18 2020-21

Becoming More Inclusive

By Melanie Meehan

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/becoming-more-inclusive/

We are having more and more conversations in our district and beyond that address the importance of inclusive practices in all aspects of education. At a recent faculty meeting, we watched a short video of Rudine Sims Bishop in which she talks about the importance of books serving as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Teachers understand why inclusive practices matter; it’s not hard to get people on board with the belief. However, many teachers are asking what they can do and how they can do it better.
The first thing to know is that we’re all on a progression of learning, knowing, and doing better when it comes to inclusive practices that respect, reflect, and honor all students. At the beginning and end of a recent presentation, I cited Clare Landrigan’s wise words to “expect and accept a lack of closure” along this continuum. That being said, here are three ways to think about inclusive practices within our daily classroom work.

Notice, reflect on, and adjust who is represented in our classrooms and curriculum.

One way to think about this is to consider how the materials in our classrooms present and show people, language, and cultures from a diversity of backgrounds. Envisioning her kindergarten classroom, one teacher thought about the human figures in her building play center. “I need some different colors,” she said. One of the social workers talked about the cards she uses to generate role-playing situations with children. “They’re mostly of white people,” she reflected. She ordered new ones during the presentation.
Within this concept, we should consider how historically marginalized people are represented in terms of power and perspective. If all of the books and curriculum in our classrooms emphasize and highlight the struggles of historically marginalized people, then what messages are we sending?
For example, if our books emphasize the civil rights era, students may begin to think that black people are always struggling for their rights instead of working through the same sorts of social issues as white people. Books should contain relatable struggles about life and relationships—not just conflicts that involve people’s color or sexuality or disability or religion or whatever else. When children repeatedly experience similar stories about themselves or other people, we risk those stories becoming their perceived truths.
Additionally, all children should see themselves in books but also feel like it’s possible for them to create those books. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to who is writing, illustrating, and publishing books. As we think about the books we use to teach both reading and writing, are we including contributions from historically marginalized people? When people see people like themselves as creators, they are more apt to become creators as well.

Expand mentor texts and choices for reading to build inclusive practices.

In both reading and writing classes, more and more teachers are offering students choices, an important way to be more exclusive. As I consider books for our curriculum and how they fit with learning progressions and standards, I also think about the following questions:

• How do these books show historically marginalized people in terms of activities, representation, and contributions?

• How do these books reflect the diversity that exists not only in my school and community, but also in the world?

• Are historically marginalized people engaged in a range of activities across a range of time periods and settings in these books?

Through this work and thinking about these questions and the issues behind them, I have created mentor text charts that represent all people, as much as has been possible. Rather than have one book or text be the mentor for all students to study as they notice and note craft moves, students can choose mentors from a variety of books.
With the charts tucked into the cover of the books, students can choose which text to use for inspiration. This link will take you to the collection of books I have created charts for in three genres: narrative, information, and opinion.
Although the number of websites and resources for finding inclusive books continues to grow, Social Justice Books is one of my favorites. This website offers many comprehensive and curated booklists, as well as reviews and articles.

Increase our awareness of language and commit to simple shifts wherever and whenever possible.

As with so many things, when we know better, we do better, and if we commit to paying more attention to the language we use and the nuances of subtle shifts, we have the potential to create a more inclusive environment for all learners. Here are some examples of shifts to take on:

Instead of saying	Try saying instead	Because
Mothers and fathers	Caregivers	Not all children have two parents, have a mother and father, or live with their parents at all.
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s learn about—	Students, learners, readers, writers, people	Not every child is sure about their sexuality, gender, and orientation. This phrase implies that everyone is one or the other, which isn’t always the case.
Boys, line up— Girls, line up—	Anyone wearing sneakers, line up— Anyone wearing jeans, line up—	Same as above.

These changes in language involve empathy and perception, two skills that we have to teach and model whenever we can.
I always remind myself that when we know better, we do better. As we recognize the importance of inclusive practices, I have no doubt that we will continue to progress along the continuum and do the work more thoughtfully and effectively.

Monday Motivator #17 2020-21

 Florence Genevieve Saperstein

AUTHOR

Brenda Pow

Work hard in silence—let your success be your noise.

                                                                   Frank Ocean

Early this spring, I spent a couple of weeks hiking with my family in a remote patch of the Redwoods National Forest in Northern California. The area was deserted—it was a quiet time of year, and we were at the very beginning point of the pandemic. It seemed like the whole world was frozen in place, trying to figure out what might come next.

One particular forest had an interesting feature—benches spaced every half mile or so, dedicated to individuals with a plaque about their lives. Most plaques had a quick note about philanthropy or family. But it was the words on this bench dedicated to Florence Genevieve Saperstein that stay with me to this day:

She was a beautiful woman and even lovelier in the way she treated people. Everyone who ever knew her loved and revered her for her unselfishness, her joyful spirit, and her commitment and service to others.

I read the words a couple of times, looking at the bench, and then looking up at the canopy of gargantuan trees, a hushed natural cathedral.

It was a surreal moment in a surreal week. Each day we would hike on long trails, out of cell phone range and out of touch with the world beyond. In the late afternoon we’d drive back to an Airbnb, reconnect to Wi-Fi or turn on the television, and discover how much more of normal life had disappeared in the previous eight hours. The date stamps on these photos is March 12, the day after the NBA and other sports leagues paused their seasons. The day after Tom Hanks announced he had COVID. The day after the World Health Organization had declared a pandemic. It was that brief transition stretch when we were all realizing we were on the threshold of a challenging time that would be like no other in our lives, with no points of reference from the past to guide us.

She was a beautiful woman and even lovelier in the way she treated people.

I read those words and looked up at those trees again. Florence Genevieve Saperstein’s life was not even a speck of carbon in one of the hundreds and hundreds of tiny rings in one of those trees.

Everyone who ever knew her loved and revered her for her unselfishness, her joyful spirit, and her commitment and service to others.

I read those words and knew the events of that cataclysmic week meant nothing in the scheme of the hundreds of years these trees had stood silently, enduring fires and floods and man-made ravages.

And yet.

One woman in her brief time on earth had such an impact on others that those beautiful words would be read by scores of hikers, all on our own unique journeys through this world, reminding us of how much is possible in one life.

This time is a test of who we are. It is not too difficult to be gracious through a short-term trial. It feels impossible to be unselfish and joyful when we have no idea when the trial will end. Whatever Florence Genevieve Saperstein went through in her life, she managed the impossible. And so her influence endures, if only in making travelers pause and consider how they want their own lives to be remembered.

Brenda Power

Founder, Choice Literacy

Monday Motivator #16 2020-21

 

A Process Open to Possibilities

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/january-8-2021-empowering-choice/

“I finally learned to make stuffing as good as yours!” my mom exclaimed during a recent phone conversation.  

I had to laugh. What she referred to as “my stuffing” is in fact the stuffing she taught me to make. Her comment evoked memories of standing at the kitchen island as a teenager, chopping celery, green bell peppers, and green onions alongside my mom. I remember dumping bread cubes into the tray and mixing the vegetables in by hand. From the years of catering to her vegetarian daughters, my mom had modified the traditional recipe by replacing chicken or turkey stock with a mixture of boiling water and butter to soak the bread before popping it in the oven. 

I have completely taken over the stuffing preparation for holiday meals. So much so, that my mother now identifies it as my recipe. At first I wondered what could possibly have caused her to think my stuffing is different from hers. Then, I start to identified choices I have made over the years to make the recipe my own.

I insist on using bread cubes from the bakery section of the fancy grocery store. I start early, so I can slowly chop the celery, peppers, and onions into tiny pieces. I choose how much bread to add based on the amount of green vegetables I chop, so the ratio is just right. Starting with the bread and adding in the vegetables never works out well. My mixture of boiling water and butter is almost entirely butter. I set a timer to remind me when to remove the foil cover and crank up the heat to crisp the top. I can almost smell the warm freshness of veggies and toasty bread soaked in butter. 

It seems my mom is an expert teacher. She modeled so that I understood each part of the process well enough to make moves of my own. She was happy to hand over control, rather than hovering over my shoulder. She was available when I had questions. (I still call her every year to ask what temperature to heat the oven.) She gave me the opportunity to make something that mattered to me. My mom not only taught me how to make stuffing, but also helped me take ownership of the family recipe.

How do I encourage students to take ownership in the classroom? Isn’t this the ultimate goal? Thinking about my mom’s exclamation causes me to reflect on the possibilities for my students. For students to take ownership, they do not need a precise recipe. Rather, students need a process that is open to possibilities. Students need room to make their own choices. Students need a teacher who will hand over control, but remain available to answer questions. And perhaps most importantly, students need opportunities to create what matters to them. 

As I head back into the classroom this January to continue writing with my sixth graders, I am carrying with me the desire to give students the ownership my mom gave me. Then one day, maybe, I will write a piece as good as theirs.

Christy Rush-Levine
Featured Contributor, Choice Literacy

Monday Motivator #15 2020-21

 

How To Begin 2021 On The Right Classroom Management Foot

January 2, 2021 by Michael Linsin

https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2021/01/02/2021-classroom-management/

Whether you’re teaching in person, online, or a hybrid of the two, there is one thing you must do to begin 2021.

It’s easy, requires zero preparation, and takes no more than ten minutes.

But it’s absolutely essential.

What is it?

It’s to review your classroom management plan. It’s to once again define for your students the boundaries that protect learning.

Here’s why:

Two weeks is forever.

It may not seem like it in your world—especially given how much you cherish your time off—but for anyone under eighteen a two-week holiday feels like an eternity.

Memories fade and good habits deteriorate.

Some students will return to your classroom as if waking from a dream. “I don’t remember having to raise my hand to ask a question. Oh, and where’s the restroom?”

It reestablishes the primacy of behavior standards.

By reviewing your classroom management plan on the first day back from break you’re communicating its supreme importance. You’re saying in essence that reestablishing limits must come first.

—Before reading, writing, discussion, or anything else.

It’s your plan, after all, and your commitment to following it, that paves the way for effective teaching and learning. It’s the good soil from which sprouts a culture of scholarship.

It reminds students of their trust in you.

Jumping straight into your plan reminds students that they can place their trust in you. They can let down their guard, exhale fully, and focus on enjoying school.

They can forget about their concerns of the past and future and engross themselves in the work of the day. In this way, good teaching and classroom management produce a form of active meditation.

They bring about a flow experience for students that lasts from opening bell to dismissal.

It invites a fresh start.

An enthusiastic review of your plan, when combined with the dawn of a new year—and the rebirth and resolutions it evokes—invites every student to start anew.

Poor grades, misbehavior, malaise due to Covid . . .

It clears the deck, absolves the lost and fallen, and encourages a turn of a new page and hope for a better tomorrow.

It makes you more consistent.

Defining boundaries and modeling right behavior is not just for your students. It’s also for you. Because, you see, it cements in your mind what is and isn’t okay.

It removes the gray area. It allows you to be a good referee and see clearly when a rule has been broken.

Add to it a promise to follow through and protect every student’s right to learn and enjoy school, and you place just enough pressure on yourself to make sure that it’s true.

The Walls of Windsor

There is so much we’re eager to get done on the first day back from a long holiday break. For me, I want nothing more than to dive into a cool lesson right after attendance.

But if you ignore the one thing that makes it all go, the one ingredient that frees your students to focus on learning and enjoying school, then they’ll be climbing the walls by noon.

And you’ll be stressed-out and already looking forward to the next vacation.

It’s far easier to take control with a reset of your classroom management plan than having to go back and reteach it because you’ve lost control. The professional subverts misbehavior before it starts.

Therefore, as soon as your students settle into their seats, don’t waste a second. Do it now. Be bold. Be clear. Be unmistakable and unapologetic.

And fortify your boundaries as tall and impenetrable as the walls of Windsor Castle.

PS – Recently, I was interviewed on the Ready, Set, Growth podcast about the importance of hobbies. If you get a chance, check it out.