Classroom Sneak Peek

Well, summer's over. 

Inservice starts Monday and we have kids on Wednesday. 

Because of summer school, I wasn't able to get into my new classroom until this Monday. And, boy, did I have a lot to do!!! 

I still have a couple of things I want to do, and I'll take better pictures and post more details later, but here's a little snip-it of my new room! 

Stay tuned next week for more! 

And, since my last post was about how the blog world makes teachers think everything has to be perfect, I feel inclined to say three things: 

1. I'm not happy with my calendar placement or board and I don't know how to make it better. It's stressing me out! 

2. I made almost everything you see in those pictures out of... cupcake holders. Haha!!! Glamorous, I am not.

3. My old classroom curtains didn't fit these windows. So, my mom and I made new ones. That aren't hemmed and are held together with safety pins. Which, I think is charming but my mom assures me it isn't. :) 

So, yeah. Perfection is not a word in my vocabulary anymore. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Summer Fun

I'm just going to post some pictures that I've taken this summer. Not a lot of words, just memories that I don't want to forget. There's been a TON going on lately over here! 

RG started playing peek-a-boo and it's the best thing ever. She just died laughing every single time. 

One night, we kept her and we went to Logan's and then to Target. She was pretty darn happy riding in the back of the cart! 

The next day, we took her to IHOP for breakfast with Daddy Doug. She ate more than any of us. Ha!

That night, I went to my friend Kate's wedding. It was beautiful and such a fun time!

I've taken this girl swimming this summer in every kind of pool imagineable! She is a complete FISH! She jumps in, tries to put her face in and gets made when you're holding her in the water. Silly girl.

Another night of babysitting...

Mom and I took Ryan Grace to the Nashville Zoo one day. It was HOT but she loved it!!

Mom and I took a little trip to Gleason.

Then, we came home and my parents put their house on the market. And, it sold in one day! The very first people who looked at it bought it. Which set everything into a tailspin, pretty much! Since they're building and it won't be ready until December, they're moving in with me.

We had some Fourth of July fun. On the Third of July. Ha. We spent the fourth packing and getting ready for a garage sale. Party. Animals.

I went to the drive-in with friends to see Jurrasic World and Pitch Perfect 2.

I chopped my hair off last week. And, I love it!!!

Okay, I'm tired. That's a lot of pictures! My whole summer has pretty much been keeping the baby and helping my parents move. It's been a lot of fun, but very exhausting! Haha! Only a few more weeks and then it's back to school for me! I haven't set foot in my classroom and haven't really even thought about school at all. But, that's going to change very soon! 

Why I Don't Own a Teacher Bag

 

There's something kind of bugging me. 

I've noticed that teachers take home a giant bag of stuff every single night. Now, I don't know if they're actually doing all the stuff in that bag or not. But, want to know a secret?

I don't even OWN a "teacher bag."

I used to.My first year, I took it home every night. I cut out file folder games on my free time. I graded papers every night. I stayed at school until 6:30 almost every day. It was horrible. School was my entire life.

So, then for a few years, I just brought the bag home on weekends. And, I would sit on my Friday nights and grade the entire week's worth of papers. Then on Saturday, I would staple them into packets to return and then I'd enter all the grades into my grade book. It took me several hours. It, too, was horrible.

Now, like I said, I don't even have a bag. I don't bring anything home. Ever.

I guess it's not the bags themselves that bug me. It's the idea that we're never doing enough. It's the thought that in order to be a great teacher you have to work morning, noon and night. You have to feel guilty if you walk out of school at 3:30 when you finish dismissal duty. I hate that. 

I didn't even tell anyone for the longest time that I don't take stuff home. Because, honestly, I didn't want it to seem like I don't work hard. And, I do. I work crazy hard. But, guys? As much as I love teaching and think that teaching is my calling and truly enjoy my job, I have to keep it in check. Because, it's not my entire life. And it shouldn't be. 

So, I'm going to tell you how I avoid taking a teacher bag home. And, just know that this is what works for me. I'm honestly, honestly not trying to lecture you! But, if you're wanting to gain back your nights and weekends, maybe you'll find something in here that will speak to you. That's my intent. 

And, if you LIKE bringing your teacher bag home every night and grading papers while you watch the Bachelor? Then, go on with your bad self! No judgement here.

Ok. You ready? 

1. Don't be a perfectionist. 

This is the number one thing that I want to emphasize. I think that Pinterest and blogs are amazing. And, ya'll. I pin all the time. Daily. Hourly. (And, I realize the irony in the fact that my classroom is all over Pinterest and I'm currently writing this on my blog. I'm not saying I'm guiltless. At all.)But, I think somewhere along the way, it's all kind of become a bit much. Am I crazy? It just feels like you can never, ever do enough. At least it does to me. With every single "classroom tour" I look at, I start to feel like my classroom isn't up to par. And, that's ridiculous. I think we've somehow equated good teaching with having the cutest classroom, the most colorful anchor charts, the most pin-worthy Valentines for our kids and lots of likes on an Instagram post. Guys, you're doing enough. Things don't have to be "perfect." I am not coming in to school on the weekends to make anchor charts. It's not happening. The anchor charts that are the most beneficial to my kids are the ones they actively help me make, anyway. And, I have enough poufs hanging from my ceiling. Once school starts, I'm not coming in on the weekends to hang more. And, if those test papers don't get passed out until Thursday? Or next week? Ehh. I don't think that stuff matters. I don't think any of that is the important stuff that we need to be worrying about. None of that stuff impacts children or changes their lives. I think that teachers, as a whole, need to give themselves a little grace and let all the perfectionism go. I'm not saying don't do anything special for your kids or decorate your classroom. I think if you've read my blog before you know I don't think that. But, I always ask myself "Is this something I'm working on after school because it's something cute 8 will enjoy or because it's something that will help the kids learn." And, if you're doing it  and it doesn't impact your kids in a meaningful way, then don't waste your time. 

2. Stay late. But, only when you need to. 

This year, my team planned together on Wednesdays. We would meet after school and during our planning period and get our next week planned out. And, some of the teachers on my team were able to type it in as we talked and had it pretty much done when we finished meeting. Which totally impressed me and I was kind of jealous! But, I need some time to process. I need some time to just sit and think about how my week will go. So, since I was already staying late on Wednesdays, I just made that my "late day." And, I stayed really late. After our team finished, which was usually around 4:30 or 5:00, then I stayed in my classroom and worked until I was done with my plans. Or, at the very least, mostly done to the point where I could quickly fill stuff in during my planning period the next day. I found, for me, that if I stayed until 6:30 or 7 one day a week, I could pretty much leave close to 4 every other day. It just worked. And, I know what you're thinking. 7:00? That's insane!!! Well, it was rarely that late. It was usually 6:30, which I think is very doable if you aren't staying late every other day. I basically forfeited one night to gain four others. Ha! And, I found a friend to stay with me and we would work together to talk through the plans and it was kind of fun, to be honest. Plus, it felt amazing to walk out of school Wednesday night and know that I had my lesson plans done for the next week. And, it gave me the next two days to work on getting books, materials, worksheets, etc. ready to go. 

3. Don't go into the weekend without your weekly plans done. 

My first year, I just felt like I never caught up. I couldn't get my plans done during the week so I worked afternschool and then some on Saturday. And, I either had to come in on Sunday and work to get stuff ready or I was going day to day to get stuff together. Both were awful. So, starting the next year, I just resolved to get my weekly plans done by Tuesday of each week. Which, yeah, seems early. But, for me, it helped me so much to have a few days to get papers copied, materials ready, all that stuff. Like I said, this year I did it on Wednesdays. But, I NEVER am in the copy room making copies for the current day. The only reason I do this is if I change my mind about something, which happens. Or if there's a grade level test we decide to give or something. But, overall, I'm copying stuff for the next week. It helps me a lot to have all my papers and stuff for the week all ready to go by Friday afternoon so that the next week, I can start working on preparing for the week after that! Always stay ahead. 

4. Grade papers as they are finished.  

Guys, this is a big one. We all know that grading is an all-consuming situation for teachers. And, I've already told you how I used to handle that. By working on the weekends. Now, I do it a little differently. As my kids start a test, I take the extra and make a key. (I don't stay after the night before to make one. Wink, wink.) Then, as kids finish, they bring them to me. And, I stand there and grade them. Shocking, I know. Here's the thing. You know and I know that it takes some kids forever to finish tests. And, I'm big on taking your time and being careful and highlighting in the text and all that. So, it takes a while. And, they all finish at different times. I'm not going to pull a small group while half of them are still working. Or teach a whole group lesson. So, as they finish, I just start grading. Do I always finish every single one? Nope. But, I get a lot of them done. A big majority. And, it's a lot easier to run back after dismissal to grade six papers than 22! Sometimes, I even grade them in front of the kids. Did I just hear you gasp?!? I do this because we talk a lot about grades and we set goals a lot. So, the kids are usually genuinely interested in what they got and I find that they enjoy standing there and watching me. They immediately know what their grade is and whether they met their goal. I also grade at some other times. Since I pretty much only give tests on Friday, this is only one day a week. So, while kids are cleaning up from centers, I grade some papers. They don't need me, I've trained them WELL! When I go to lunch, I grade some papers. While the kids are packing up for dismissal, I grade some papers. Somehow, I always get it done. And, I have my planning period, too. It really isn't a problem. Then, I stack the graded papers on my desk so that I won't forget to enter them into the grade book. As soon as dismissal is over, I run back to my room and I enter those grades before I leave Friday afternoon. If I don't get them all done and I'm ready to leave? Ehh. I'll get them Monday. I don't take them home. Who made the rule that papers had to be returned on Monday? I have never, in eight years of teaching, had a parent ask me why I didn't return a test the next day. Not once. 

(I also want to say that I realize some teachers need to read the tests to the students. I did this, too, when I taugh first grade. At least in the beginning. And, I did it this year in math for my EL students. So, obviously if you're administering tests, you can't be grading them, too. But, I still got it done. I just used all extra time on Fridays to grade or I stayed after a few minutes Friday to get it done.)

(And, I also see how someone might say "Well, if you stay after a little Friday anyway, why don't you just take it home?" I feel ya. I see how that's confusing. But, for me, it just feels healthy to seperate home and work. I don't mind working on school stuff when I'm at school. But, when I'm at home, that's my time to relax, watch tv, enjoy family and friends, read, whatever. I want to be able to do those things without having a bag sitting in the corner taunting me and making me feel guilty that I'm not working. That may sound crazy. But, for me, I can't relax when I feel like there is school work sitting right there that I need to be doing. So, I truly, honestly forget about school and being a teacher most nights. It's just how I am. School stuff happens at school, not my home. )

5. It's okay to throw things away. 

I don't give a lot of worksheets. I used to give a lot more but I like to think I'm a little more evolved as a teacher now. Ha! But, we all know that there are things you have your kids work on that just don't need to be graded. I used to feel like I still needed to go and put a check mark on all the papers and then pass them out to go home and all that stuff takes up time. Time that I don't have. So, now? You guessed it! I toss them in the trash. And I don't even feel a little bit bad about it. I'm not talking about test papers and things that need to be graded. I'm just talking about all those papers that are laying  around that I know good and well I'm not going to grade. Practice sheets, morning work, sheets that we read from and they highlighted in the text. That stuff. I just discretely tossed that stuff in the garbage after the kids left and they were none the wiser. Don't waste your time doing things that don't make an impact on the kids. There's no reason to. 

6. Clean as you go.

I hear this all the time. "I need to stay for a little while and straighten up my room!" Yeah, you know you've heard it too. Very rarely do I say that, though. Because, I put things back where they go. Right then. I've found that it really doesn't take that much extra time for me to go put those manipulatives back on the shelf instead of leaving them on the counter. Or to go put those extra papers back in the drawer instead of throwing them on my desk. I teach my kids to help me, too. I don't teach until every desk chair is pushed in. I just stand there until the "guilty" get up and go push their chair in. We don't go to P.E. until those markers are put back on the shelf and that bean bag gets put back in its proper place. If you consciously keep your room picked up, you won't have to spend your afternoons doing it. I never leave with my room a mess. Because, mostly I can't stand it. Ha! But, also because my kids keep it clean because I teach them to do so. Teach those babies to be neat freaks, ya'll. I promise you won't regret it! 

7. Use your time wisely. 

I like to talk. Hence, this little ol' blog. Ha! And, I can be kind of bad about spending my planning period chatting. In the office. To a parent I run into in the hall. To other teachers. You know, pretty much anyone who will listen. But, this last year, I made a conscious effort to stop wasting time talking. And, no, that doesn't mean I stopped socializing. Far from it. But, I did stop spending my whole planning period in my friends classrooms talking. And, I used those planning periods to, um, plan. Make copies, grade papers, you know. All that fun stuff. It helped me to make a list of stuff I needed to finish each day. Then I moved a lot faster and got more done. It also helped me to shut my door on days when I needed to get something done. Not to keep others out, mind you. Oh no. To keep MYSELF in. Just trust me. It had to happen some. 

8. Make a lot of guided reading plans at once. 

One of the things that really takes up a lot of time for me is guided reading plans. They're the worst, am I right? Because, you have to make them for five different groups. Every week. Or more. So, one thing I started doing was setting aside one afternoon. Or I would sometimes use a planning day to do this. I would get three books for each group I had. Then, I sat down at my table and made plans for ALL the books. Now, I realize that sometimes your plans change. And, you realize that kids need something more specific. But, pretty quickly, I found that I knew my kids well enough to make some plans for each book. And, at the very least, you can find themes, make up questions, pick out vocabulary words and choose a comprehension strategy for the book. It just really helped me to not have to stay after school all the time making guided reading plans. And, whenever I finished a book, I was just able to grab another set of plans and book off the shelf and I was good to go. Another thing I did was use books over and over. Most of the time, my groups stairstepped. I'd have a group of 28's, 26's and 24's. So, when the 26's finished a book, I'd put it in the pile for the 24's to use when they were ready. You can always tailor the lesson to be more specific, but it's nice to already have the basics down and the hard work done. It worked really well for me this year. 

9. Come to school early. 

For me, if I come in a good thirty minutes or more early, I can get a TON done! Now, in all honesty, I came in later and later this year as the school year wound down. But, I was always at least thirty minutes early. Almost always. Ha. But, you can use that time to run copies (for next week, not today!), grade papers, do paperwork, whatever. For me, I'd rather come in early and get to leave at 3:45.

10. Make a conscious effort. 

Mostly, you just have to tell yourself that you're not going to bring stuff home and stay late every day. And then, just don't. Once I decided that I wanted to stop staying late every day and bringing home papers every week, I just did it. It was a lot easier than I thought. A big part is just letting yourself believe that it's okay, you're still a good teacher and you're still working hard. 

Okay.

Do you all think I'm a terrible slacker teacher now? I promise I'm not. I'm a good teacher who just wants to be able to have some downtime. 

And, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. 

Let's Talk About Accountable Talk.

Well, here we are. One week into summer vacation and life is good. I've been reading a ton, catching up with my favorite Housewives and babysitting my sweet little niece. This week I've been going to school in the mornings to work on a writing focus calendar for next year. I'm super excited about that because I really think it will help our kids be more successful readers! 

But, this blog post is not about summer. Or writing. It's about accountable talk. And, unfortunately, it won't have any cute pictures or funny stories. But, I honestly think it will be one of the most useful posts I've ever done. Because, accountable talk works. I've seen it first hand. I'm a believer. 

Okay, so here's how I had the most successful year of teaching I've ever had. And please know that I am NOT an expert. Nor do I think I know everything about accountable talk. Many, many teachers have been using this for a long time and know a LOT more about it than I do! This is just what worked for me

in my classroom. 

At the beginning of this year, I was really worried. I had a very low class, especially in math. We're talking "half the class made a 46 on the test" kind of low. And, when you teach third grade, that's really scary because you know these kids will have to take state tests and you know your whole school is riding on their scores. I tried everything. I pulled small groups, we used manipulatives all the time, I taught multiple ways, I talked to the math coach... I literally couldn't think of what else to do. Part of the problem was that most of these kids were EL students who just didn't have a great grasp of the language and we all

know that third grade math requires a lot of reading and understanding of academic language. It was October and I was still struggling daily to help over half my class be successful in math. 

So, one night, I came across a pin on Pinterest about accountable talk. And, even though I've seen these pins millions of times, something made me take a second look that night. I decided I would try it the next day. And, I did. It was moderately successful, but the kids loved it!!! Thank goodness, a few months later, we had some PD about accountable talk and I realized that I was doing it wrong. This PD really opened my eyes to what accountable talk could be and I went back the next day and started over! 

I don't want anyone else to make the mistakes I did when I first started. So, here's how I did it the second time and how it completely changed my classroom and my teaching for the better! 

1. Drink the Kool-Aid. 

This is the most important advice I can give. Kids are master mood-readers. They know when you've bought in to something and when you haven't. You don't have a prayer of this working unless you're committed and excited. I sat my kids down on the carpet and I told them that the day before, our principal had told me something that blew my mind. Of course, they were all dying to know what he told me. I told them that he had said "The person who does the talking does the learning." And, we talked about what that meant. Then I asked them who talks the most in our classroom and they all pointed to me. Talk about a sobering moment! So, I told them that I wanted our classroom to be different. I wanted them to be the ones learning. And that meant that they were going to have to start talking more! Well, they were hooked! What kid hates to hear that they need to talk more at school? Exactly! 

So, this began our transformation. We used that quote a lot throughout the rest of the year. The kids would ask me from time to time if we were going to use accountable talk for a certain activity and I'd pretend to think about it and they'd say "But, Ms. Ridings! We need to do the learning! You already know it!!" And, so I'd "agree" to let them use accountable talk. They all bought in to it big time and I think it's because they knew how excited I was about it. 

2. The key to being a good talker is being a good listener. 

So, after they bought in, we got started. Our PD did a really good job of explaining how to get it started and luckily, it's super easy!!! I started with explaining that the key to being a good talker is being a good listener. I asked them if their minds ever wandered away when someone was talking to them. They all raised their hands. I asked them why it was important to be a good listener when someone else was talking. We brainstormed together. Then, I told them that we were going to practice being good listeners! On a piece of chart paper, I wrote "What I heard you say was..." And, I asked a kid a silly question like "What's your favorite song?" When they told me, I used the sentence frame to repeat it back to them. Then, I asked another kid. But, this time, I obviously didn't listen. I looked away and fiddled with the marker in my hand and then made up another answer when I repeated the sentence frame back. And, the kids went nuts! So, we talked about how the talker felt when I didn't listen and what I missed them saying when I wasn't listening.

 So, then I put the kids with partners and we practiced it using fun topics. We literally spent 10 minutes (or less) and then moved on. But, during that day, I tried to incorporate it into our lessons as much as possible. "Tell your shoulder partner which character is your favorite." "Okay, shoulder partners, tell your partner what you heard them saying using accountable talk." Easy breezy. 

A day or two later, we worked on summarizing what our partners said. I wrote "what I think you're saying is..." on the same chart and then we did the same routine.  Practice it together, practice with partners. The kids loved this one because they didn't have to say the answer back word for word and they had some freedom in their response.

3. Let's agree to disagree. 

The next goal was to teach them to be able to evaluate a response that someone gave. So, once I felt like they were good listeners, we moved on. I added " I agree with ----- because...." and "I respectfully disagree with ----- because..." to our chart. Then, I told them that when someone makes a statement, you need to decide if you agree with that statement or not. We talked about how it's okay if someone disagrees with you because they're going to say it in a respectful way. And, it doesn't mean they don't like you or you're not smart, it just means that they have a different opinion than you. And that's okay. This is where accountable talk is huge, in my opinion. It creates a culture where kids can make mistakes and have discussions with each other without feelings getting hurt or damaging confidence. My kids really, really latched on to this part. 

I started off saying something goofy like "I believe that the sky is purple." And, different kids would tell me that they respectfully disagreed and would tell me why. I was very careful to make sure they used the sentence frames properly every time because I wanted those frames to help build the language in our environment. Then, I let the kids tell their partners how they felt about homework. And their partners agreed/respectfully disagreed and gave their reasons why. We made sure to keep talking about being a good listener because to agree or disagree, you have to understand what the person is saying. This was, hands down, my kids' favorite part of accountable talk. I really think they became excellent listeners at this point because they wanted to chime in with whether or not they agreed or disagreed! Who doesn't love to share their opinions? And what teacher doesn't love it when kids are developing arguments for their opinions on a daily/hourly basis?

4. Start class discussions.

So, at this point, about a week had passed by and we had really only been using accountable talk with partners. But, my goal was for this to become a way for us to have class discussions. I truly wanted to transform what our whole group time looked like. So, once I felt like they had the first four sentence frames down, we ventured a little further from our comfort zone. I sat them down again and I told them that I was so proud of how well they were doing with accountable talk and I wanted to try something. They were all like "Okay, let's do it!!!" So, I told them that I was going to read a story and I was going to stop some during the story and ask questions, but I wasn't going to talk after that. I wasn't going to call on anyone and I wasn't going to say anything! We talked about how they didn't have to raise their hands, but if they started talking at the same time as someone else, they needed to stop and figure out who would go first. And they could speak up and tell if they agreed or disagreed with someone's answer as long as they did so respectfully. They were soooooo excited. 

So, I read a little and then stopped and asked a question. Then, I sat there and didn't say a word. And, ya'll? They did it! They actually did it! On the first try, they carried on a discussion about the question I had asked. I was shocked! Were there times when I had to bite my lip to keep from saying something? Yes! Were there some times when two kids would start talking at the same time and they'd struggle a little to decide who would speak first? Of course!  It was definitely clunky in the beginning. But I just made myself be quiet and let them work through it. And, what's amazing is that the higher kids in the class really took the lead and helped out with all this. They'd kind of monitor and help problem solve and they did it without me having to ask them. Eventually, it wasn't just the higher kids, it was everyone. 

4. Add to the list. 

We continued to add sentence frames to our anchor chart. And, I put this anchor chart front and center in our classroom because we used it all the time!!! Here's what it looked like on the last day of school.

So, those are the frames we ended up using. What's awesome is that after about the first six or seven, the kids came up with the rest! They would think of frames that would be helpful for them and they would ask if we could add them to chart. We'd always discuss it as a class (I agree because...) and then add it if most of them felt like it was something they would use. I loved this because I feel like it gave them ownership of the chart! They were actively involved in creating every bit of it and we used it daily so it was very special to them! (On a side note, after I took this picture, I took the chart down because it was the last day of school. And, my kids were like "No! Don't throw it in the trash!! We want to keep it!" Since I couldn't just give it to one kid, they discussed it and decided I should cut each sentence frame out and give them out. So, I cut them into strips and they wore them as hats on the last day of school!) 

5. Transforming Morning Work. 

I can remember a few years ago that I had a student teacher and I literally would not let her check morning work with my kids because it was our time for math spiral review and I was afraid that she would explain problems differently than I had explained them. Which, looking back, is super embarrassing and humbling for several reasons. But, mostly, it just reiterates to me that I was doing all the talking. 

And here's the thing. We all do this. We talk at our kids all day long. I think we've all come a long way with this, but I think a lot of teachers still do the majority of the talking. We're teachers, we like to be in control. You know I'm right.

 But, when I saw how successful my kids were in using accountable talk in reading, I started using it more in math. And, I started with morning work. This ended up being, without a doubt, the MOST transformative thing I did all year. 

Here's how it looked: Their morning work every day was four math problems on a PowerPoint that reviewed skills that were previously taught. After announcements and breakfast clean up, we'd come to the carpet. And, I'd call on a kid to come up and show how they solved the first problem. I taught them how to explain every single step by modeling, modeling, modeling. But, I also taught them that if someone didn't explain every step, that was okay because that just provided you with a question you could ask later! So, while the kid is at the board showing how they solved the problem, all the rest were sitting there and listening. And, because I had taught them to be good listeners, they were awesome at this! After the first day or two, I rarely had to ask anyone if they were listening because I could see their eyes looking straight at the board! I also taught them early on that if they thought of a question to ask, they could write it down on their paper so they didn't forget! They did this a lot at the beginning, but eventually this tapered off because they didn't need to anymore. 

So, when the kid that is explaining finished, they would say "Does anyone agree with me?" And then everyone who agrees raises their hand. Then, they ask "Does anyone have any questions?" And the kids are free to ask questions to that kid. At first, the questions were a little repetitive and of course we had to have some conversations about questions that are helpful and questions that aren't. But, after a while, they got better and better at it! We would do this process for all four questions. I know what you're thinking. "Um, really? I bet that took all morning!" Not gonna lie, in the beginning, it did take a really long time. But, as they got better and better at it, we were checking all four questions and discussing them in fifteen/twenty minutes and I feel like that was worth every second for several reasons. Remember I mentioned that my kids were low in math? Well, when we first started this, those low kids were really hesitant. I would have to call on them and they'd go up there and barely whisper and rarely get the answer right. But, I kid you not, after doing this for several months, you couldn't even tell who the low kids were! Their confidence soared and I purposefully called on them the most. I feel like this was worth every single minute we spent on it! 

6. Test Prep

I also used accountable talk a TON with test prep. I would have them work problems and then they would go over them completely on their own. I wouldn't speak at all unless there was something that was being discussed wrong that I needed to clear up. I also taught them to talk about which choices they eliminated and why and this became a huge part of our accountable talk. They would say "I eliminated B because... Does anybody agree with me?" and they'd discuss it amongst themselves. I felt like my kids were more prepared for state testing this year than any other year. And, that's saying a LOT because I told you about our math situation at the beginning!

7. General Tips

Okay, so this is becoming crazy long. Here are just some last things that I think it's important to share...

-Accountable talk worked best for me at the carpet. I found that the kids listened better when we were all close together and they had better responses when they could look at each other while speaking. I know some teachers who do it at desks and it works fine, so this is totally a personal preference. But, for me,

I feel like it helped build that community if we were all kind of close together.

-I found it hard at times to be completely quiet. So there are two things I did: I sat behind the kids when we checked morning work. That way, it wasn't about

me. They couldn't even see me. And, it helped me to keep quiet. The second thing I did was teach my kids to be my monitor. You may not feel comfortable doing this, but I taught my kids a hand signal to do if they felt like I was monopolizing the conversation. It looked like a quacking duck with their hands. I just told them that it's their classroom and they are the reason we are there. And, if they needed me to be quiet so they could be the one learning, I was totally okay with that! They didn't abuse this at all, but I could see how some classes possibly could. But, it really helped me to realize when I was talking too much!!!

-Some kids will speak up a lot and some will be more hesitant to join in. In the beginning, I didn't make anyone speak who didn't want to. I wanted them all to feel comfortable and I found that most of my kids eventually joined in when they felt ready. I really only had two or three who just rarely ever spoke. So, at times, I would say that no one else could jump in until we heard from everyone. That usually did the trick. But, I also had a few conversations with the "eager beavers" who wanted to respond to every single

comment. I usually found that if I talked

to the child, they'd fix it and let others join in.

-I also had two or three kids who would raise their hand to ask the exact same question every single time someone worked a morning work problem. So, I told them they got one question per morning and that was it. It didn't upset them at all because I still let them ask the question. Just not every single time. 

-Setting academics aside for a second, I think this also had a HUGE impact on my kids socially. It gave them a voice and an outlet for problem solving. One day, I asked a kid to move his clip for something. He moved his clip, but I could tell he was really upset. He just kept looking at me and I could tell he wanted to tell me something. Finally, he walked over and he said "Ms. Ridings, I respectfully disagree with you about moving my clip." And, then he explained how I misread the situation and he actually wasn't doing what I thought he was. We discussed it and I let him move his clip back up and honestly, I was just so proud of him for using accountable talk in  a way that wasn't even academic. We hadn't practiced that at all! 

This same kid got in an argument with a kid in another class at recess one day. When we got done talking with them about it, he said "Ms. Ridings? Can I talk to him about what happened?" I was shocked. I said he could and he proceeded to tell this kid that he didn't agree with how he was tackling in football and explained how it hurt when he did it. He asked the kid if he could please tackle the way they had agreed on when they started playing.  I can honestly say, it was one of my proudest moments in eight years of teaching. Two months earlier, this same kid would just shut down when he got mad and wouldn't even talk to me when I would take him in the hallway to discuss his behavior. And he definitely wasn't the only one using accountable talk socially, he's just the one who it changed the most. Next year, I'll be sure to focus even more on using accountable talk socially. You know the saying, our kids teach us more than we teach them. It really is true. In so many ways. 

-One last story. At the end of the year, I was really sick one morning and had to call in a sub. Well, no sub picked up the job because our district has a major sub shortage and my kids had to absorbed out. When I got back the next day, I asked my kids how their days had been. One kid said "Ms. Ridings? We checked morning work and the teacher talked the whole time! I had so much trouble listening because I knew I wasn't going to get to ask questions! Thank you for always letting us do the learning!" Those were his exact words. 

Okay, this has become ridiculously long. If you have any questions about accountable talk, just ask. I am not an expert by any means, this is just what worked for me in my class. I hope it works for you too!