No Recess? Are you Serious?

I would think by now everyone knows how important recess is for elementary age children, but I'm daily shocked to hear from parents how the school in my county and teachers in other schools all around our state refuse this sacred time for children. I'm sure it's not even just an issue with teachers in my state, because I know if it is happening here, it is happening all around our country! Why? Seriously... Why?

I could site hundreds of studies that prove significant learning benefits for children that are allowed to participate in recess. I could share how it builds social skills and play is really the most important job for a student. It's hands-on learning about life. That's been done before and I do want to encourage you to look into the wonderful and insightful research that is out there. It might inspire you, if you are one of the too many teachers that don't let their students play.

Instead, I'm going to look at why these students might not be experiencing recess. I'm going to share some of my own strategies and ideas that I hope will encourage you if you are experiencing any of the listed problems.

Bad behavior during recess - I've mentioned before that I taught 7 years in a kindergarten classroom and my opinion is that I don't care what grade level you teach, that first week of school you should be sharing, practicing, and reviewing your expectations to your students as though they were hearing them for the first time as a kindergartener. You might think, "I teach 5th grade. My students have heard these rules for the past 6 years and they still can't follow them." For a student, every year is different, every teacher's expectations are different, every classroom is different, even if you do have "School-wide" rules. Rules are learned. They are not picked up by most. They are definitely not, "picked up" by those students that struggle with "picking up" the rules every year. So, don't just go over the rules verbally. Don't just have the students repeat the rules back to you. Don't just make the kids sign a "Constitution" the rules are listed on that they are in agreement that they are going to follow the rules. Help them understand the rules. Just like when you're teaching a student a new skill you show them the skill, you explain the skill, and you have them practice the skill. You have to do the same thing for rules. Talk to them about the rules. Show them why the rules are important and practice the rules. Every year, on the first day of school, I would take my kindergarten class out to the playground. We walked around all the equipment as I explained how I expected them to behave. For each rule I made, I would have every student demonstrate following that rule. We would also talk about why that rule was important and I would have students role play not following the rule and demonstrate what bad thing could happen. (Obviously, I didn't let my kids do anything that would hurt them.) Then, I had every student demonstrate following the rule again. After that, I would allow my students to play in one particular area (we had 3 in the play yard) for 1 minute. Then, I would gather my students back together and we would discuss how they did. Again, I let them play for a longer period of time if they did well maybe 5 minutes. We repeated this process over the course of the week until I felt the students could play for 30 minutes without problems. Then, I introduced another play area. This might seem like a lot of work, but I rarely had any issues with my students on the playground. They knew exactly what I expected of them. Anytime an issue arose, I took care of it in the same way. My students had fun playing, no one got hurt, I wasn't stressed out, and we all came back inside healthier and happier.

Bad behavior in the classroom / lose recess - For the most part, bad behavior in the classroom can be eliminated the same way I expressed above. Discuss your expectations, demonstrate what you expect, and have students practice it. Yes, this technique takes a lot of time away from actual instruction time in reading, math, and other subjects at the beginning of the school year, but you make up so much more time by not having to put out bad behavior fires constantly by taking these steps from the beginning. I won't say that I never had  a student that didn't act up and lose his/her recess time, but I hate it when kids just stay in and do nothing or sit and watch the other students play. My students still felt the consequences of their actions, but they still experienced a part of recess. (The exercise part) I made students walk around a small area of the playground. They were not allowed to talk or play, but they were moving and getting their blood flowing, which still activates some of those beneficial qualities of recess. Usually, I made them walk for 5 minutes and then allowed them to play. There were the occasions when a student was to walk the entire recess time. Those students that usually lose their recess are the ones that need it the most. Get them walking if nothing else.

No area to play - This could be a legitimate reason, not to have a recess time, but even if this is the case, be creative. Children need a change in scenery. I mean even I have to get up, move away from my computer and get out of my room for a break. I know 5 - 10 year olds do too! Go on a treasure hunt around the school building. Make sure the students know the behaviors you expect of them just like if you were walking them around the equipment. Turn your classroom into a gym. Move the desks if you need to. I'm sure the students will be happy to help you with that chore. Remember, that socialization is part of learning, so even though they are inside, let them talk and be silly. Just make sure they know what noise level is appropriate and what might distract another classroom. The one thing I would never suggest a teacher replace recess with is a tv. There's no expercise nor socialization with the tv on! Those are the 2 main reasons you want to provide your students with recess, so there's no point. Sure use it as a reward, but it should not replace recess.

Rainy day / Bad weather - Again, be creative. There are many classroom games that serve the same purpose as outside games, but are more appropriate for inside. The below link looked like a good list. I know I've played a few with my students and I'm sure there's more to find a Google away.

Rainy Day Recess Classroom Games

Don't have time to teach everything, must use recess time - I have heard this argument time and time again, not to mention felt it too. I know how many standards there are to teach. I know the classroom size is too large and the help is too little. But as I said earlier, in the long run, with happier, more relaxed children that know your expectations, you are going to have more time to teach because students learn more when you give them a break and allow information to sink in.

Lazy teacher - There's not much I can do if the main problem is a lazy teacher. Unless an administrator is reading my blog and if you are experiencing this problem, I would make recess mandatory. If they don't know how to do recess appropriately, teach them. In my opinion if they're too lazy to take their kids out for a needed break, they're too lazy to teach their students appropriately. If this is you, I ask you to take a good look at yourself. Are you doing what is best for your students or for you? Are you putting in the hours before retirement? It's not fair to kids who could be learning, being productive, and being inspired by someone else for you to steal that away from them.


I'm sure there are more problems that teachers experience that make them feel like they are unable to allow their students the time they need to play and if you are experiencing an issue I would love to hear from you. The Teacher Talk Blog is not just for me to share my ideas. This is not a one-sided blog. This should be an area where all teachers can come together and freely share ideas, strategies, and experiences that will make us all better teachers. Collaborate with me!

Building Relationships

It's the beginning of the school year, filled with a lot of excitement, expectations, and often anxiety. Whether you're a kindergarten or high school teacher the most important part about these first few days of school is the relationships you build with your students. This relationship sets the tone for the rest of the school year. I'm not encouraging you to build a "friendship" when I say relationship, nor am I in agreement to setting the tone of a dictatorship. Rather, I encourage teachers to find a way to make students feel as though they care, genuinely want to get to know them, and this classroom and these people are safe.

Why is this important? Have you ever been in a new environment? How did you feel? What made you feel better about being there? Most likely those same things are going to help your students feel better about being there. I wanted to share a few suggestions I have incorporated into my teaching over the past few years.

1. Meet your students at the door, look into their eyes and greet them with genuine expression that you are glad they are there that day. Not only on the first day of school, but every day.

2. Smile all day long. I know this sounds silly and I really didn't realize the importance of smiling until one of my students taught me my first year. I had just started the class on an assignment and was walking around the room making sure everyone was on task and seeing if anyone needed help when PJ popped up and  announced to the class, "I'm so glad we have Mrs. Schneider. She smiles a lot." How can you get onto a kid for saying something like that?  From that day on, in the middle of my worst days, I would remember what PJ said and while I often felt like giving up or sending them all to Time Out, instead I would smile. I don't know what magical powers a smile has, but don't underestimate it! Your day will get better.

3. Play games. Playing games not only provides you with opportunities to teach teamwork and good sportsmanship, but it's fun, motivating, and helps students learn. Read my previous blogs on Playing Games in the Classroom Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 for more ideas.

4. Listen and Remember. I know this is especially hard with high school teachers as they may have 100 + students every day, but try. If a student is willing to share there feelings with you, there is a reason. No, you're not there to be there friend, but if you want your students to listen to you, you need to make time to listen to them. Which leads into my next suggestion.

5. If you want respect from your students, you must first show your students respect. Children come from all different types of households. Sadly, they don't always come from one that has demonstrated what respect is to them or to other family members. Respect is not something that comes to children naturally.They may never know, unless you teach them. Model respect by the way you talk to them, by the way you treat them, by the way you give them privileges, and in every interaction you have with them. Are you going to do this perfectly? No, so model when you make a mistake how to ask for forgiveness.

6. Mistakes happen. Show your students that you make mistakes. Let them know that they will make mistakes and while mistakes often have consequences whether your the teacher or the student, you will work with them to help them improve next time.

7. No Bullying! Up front, make it well known that bullying behavior is not tolerated. Now, that said, "kids will be kids' and they are going to be mean occasionally. Should a first grade student receive in school suspension because she tells another girl, "I'm not going to invite you to my birthday party," because they can't agree on something silly? In my opinion, No! Others may disagree, but I feel consequences should be natural and connected to a students behavior if possible. If this student was in my class and I overheard this, I would pull both students aside. I would have them talk about what the underlying issue is and help be a mediator to guide them to a resolution if possible. Then, I would talk to the student that made this comment. I would have the student explain why this comment was made, how the student thought that made the other child feel, and why the student wanted the child to feel that way. I would say, that because the student tried to make the child feel this way, she was going to miss out on an experience that we were having in the class, so she will remember this feeling next time she thinks about commenting that way. Of course, you have to follow your school policies, but have some common sense. I have seen way too many unreasonable punishments for children. They're children! Punishment does not solve issues. Teach them respect.

8. Do not show favoritism. I know no one will admit to this, but it happens. It happens even if you may not be aware of it. Watch yourself carefully. Are you calling on a particular student often? Are you avoiding a certain student? Are you more forgiving to some students, but not others? Be honest with yourself.

9. Their learning is important. Show them you care what they want to learn and how they want to learn. Work hard to try to teach in a way that makes what is being learned relevant for each student. I didn't way it is easy, but it is possible.

10. Personally, I'm against those "ice breaker" activities. I know how I feel as soon as someone mentions that I'm going to have to do one and I don't know about you, but I don't learn any names or important information about people that way. I have a feeling my students feel the same way. Create real experiences where students can take time to get to know each other through games and activities you set up for a purpose in your class. Start off with just grouping 2 students together when they work. It's easier to get to know just one person at a time.

I hope you got an idea to implement in your classroom that will help you build a strong relationship with your students, which will allow you to teach them more effectively this year. If you have any ideas that are successful in your classroom, please share them in the comments section below.

Happy teaching this year!

Teacher Jen

How to Fix Schools

I am probably just as frustrated with schools as parents, teachers, politicians, and anyone else that sees there is a problem. Note:  I did not say specifically public school or private school, because usually they are set up the same way and there are just as many private schools that don’t work for students as public schools. I know, as I have seen first hand, that school systems are trying to improve the quality of education by improving quality of teacher relationships with students, the quality of materials provided to students, the quality of a teacher’s ability to teach students, as well as other things that I think are important and should be continued. Unfortunately, those things while they will improve the education of some students are NOT going to solve the overall problem with education.

I teach at a virtual school and while it is considered a public school, it is a school of choice for parents. They are not districted to attend the school that I teach at. Whether they have been attending my school for 5 years or this is their first year, I ask every parent during my welcome call, “Why did you choose this school?” I get so upset by the answers I hear from parents. They range from things like:  problems with bullying, the teacher refused to communicate with the parent about issues the child was having in school, the teacher refused to provide services that the child needed as he or she was struggling to read or learn math skills, they weren’t given recess, they never went on field trips, and the list goes on and on. It’s sad! I can’t believe there are schools out there that allow these things to go on! So, YES! I believe the above attempts at quality improvements need to be continued and from my view point at an even more intensive level!

This year, we have new National Standards, Common Core, that are rolling out and have been researched and studied to be presented to students in ways that are developmentally appropriate. From my training of the Common Core, I do think that these standards change the focus from learning how to get answer right to figuring out how to understand concepts. I believe this is another step in the right direction. I especially think that if teachers follow through on the suggestions that are out there for how to teach students math concepts, they will really understand how math works. That said, at the end of one of my trainings, the presenter posted a slide with a quote from Bill McCallum (Math Team Coordinator, Common Core State Standards). “As my colleague Jason Zimba likes to say, you don’t teach standards, you teach mathematics.” I believe they both have it wrong. I have never liked to say, “I teach 2^nd grade.” or “I teach math.” or “I teach the standards.” Those are the paths that I take to teach my students… “I teach MY STUDENTS.” Every teacher should be teaching each student individually in a way that engages and challenges that child to learn new things at what ever level that might be. When I taught kindergarten, I taught a range of kids that varied from pre-school to students that read on 6^th grade levels. The child that read on a 6^th grade level may have been doing math on a 3^rd grade level. I did not teach kindergarten. I taught my students what they needed to learn about reading or math. I used the standards to guide me, but I taught my kids!

I feel, that although we are making small strides of improvement, we are not fixing the problem. The problem, in my opinion, is that students are not learning what they need to learn in kindergarten, but they are still being passed on to first grade. The student may never get what he or she missed in kindergarten, falls further behind, and yet is passed on to second grade. The child my receive support services, and while there are many success stories, there are even more students that fall through the cracks, and are continued to be passed on to the next teacher possibly until he or she fails a high stakes test. At which time, the child may be retained at that grade level. Some of these students learn to “play school” and how to get the answer right, they may continue to be passed up the school ladder, but they are NOT educated. Students that continue to fail the test are also often just passed up the school ladder… “Maybe he or she will learn what he or she needs to know next year.”

THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH EDUCATION!

I propose we revamp the entire school set up. I would like to see grade levels disappear altogether. If we are going to use standards to guide our instruction and we want students to master these standards, why don’t we set up our schools in such a way that this happens? How? You may ask… That is the million dollar (maybe more expensive question.) But we can figure this out.  In fact, if we do, my guess is that expensive question will turn out to be a cheap and effective answer in the long run.

I see a school building similar to those fashioned today, if not the same, but once you walk inside, things may look a bit different. There would not be a kindergarten wing, first grade wing, or anything of the sort. Instead, I see lists of standards organized from simple to complex. Teachers would be responsible for not just teaching these standards, but for each student’s learning of these standards. Today’s teachers are responsible for a hundred or more standards to teach in one year. These teachers would be expected to teach maybe 10 standards, plus or minus (we’ll have to figure out what is appropriate) to students without a given timeline. The students will determine their own timeline. If a child can master the standards of the class in 10 days, the child is ready to move on to more complex standards. If a child needs more detailed instruction and opportunities to understand the expected standards, he or she may take 2 months. Instruction should be differentiated, engaging, and challenging. Movement among classrooms should be flexible, where students are progressed as they master standards or returned to certain classrooms to review if needed. This is the biggest difference; students are moved because they know what they need to know, not because it is the end of the school year! While teachers are expected to make sure students master the particular standards being taught, they may incorporate other standards into the learning. They don’t have to teach standards in isolation, in fact, I don’t recommend that anyway. There would still be a need for support teachers (Title I and EIP – Early Intervention Program) to provide additional support to students who struggle learning specific skills. There would still be a need for advanced learning teachers to provide opportunities for students to dive deeper into certain standards.

We need to create schools were every decision is made based on what that child knows or what he or she needs to know as individuals. I’m obviously NOT saying I have it all figured out, but I do think our students would benefit from it if we took the time to figure it out. The steps we’re taking to improve education right now are as effective as putting band aids on a gunshot wound. Let’s do something different!

Teacher Jen

Games in the Classroom (Part 4)

To Compete or Not To Compete…

That is a very controversial question!

My answer… it depends. I know, I know! What a cop-out, but it really does. Let me explain myself.

What does it depend on? Well, there are a couple of factors. The first one is the students playing the game. The second one is my purpose for playing the game.

Your student should always be the first thing you think about when planning anything. When I think of my students, I think about what they need to learn or practice and then what game would best suit their personalities to motivate them to learn and keep them engaged in the learning during the game. Some students need the competition to keep their interest in the game as they are learning, while others do not. Some students may feel defeated even if they are behind one person. At that point, the game becomes the focus for them.

The game should NEVER be the focus. It should be the medium that stimulates the learning.

I think about the interests of the students and try to incorporate their interests into the game. For example, if I have a student that is interested in rockets, I might use a game board in the shape of a rocket or maybe I just use a generic game board and provide that student with a rocket sticker as his game piece to move around the board.

I think about how the students learn. Do they easily pick up on new material? If so, I might challenge them with questions beyond their ability to test their understanding and build their knowledge. Does it take many encounters with new material before a student learns something new? If so, I might present the same materials over and over again to this student in several different ways during the game. Does the student get easily overwhelmed by new material? If so, I would present material already taught that the student needs practice with most of the time and occasionally throw in some new material after the student has seen/heard other students’ answers. I would watch this student’s body language carefully and make sure to present the student with problems I know he or she knows the answers to before he or she becomes frustrated by the new or challenging experiences. Likewise, I would also watch the student’s body language that finds learning easy; to make sure he or she is staying challenged and engaged in the learning and the game.

After I think about my student, I think about why we are playing the game. Do I want my students to learn something new? If so, I might not want to incorporate a competitive game as I want my students to take risks, make guesses, and not be penalized for wrong answers. In this situation, I might allow the student to try a hard problem first. If he or she misses, I would help the student figure it out. Then, I would allow the student to work through an easier problem in order to take his or her turn for the game. If I am playing a game with the intent of having my students review material they should know, I might incorporate a competitive game to keep the interest high in the game and motivate students to get the answers right.

Are you a competitive spirit? Are you an “everyone gets a trophy” kind of person? Or are you like me… It depends? Share your insights!