Math: The Struggle is REAL!

I have struggled with math for as long as I can remember.  In high school I was the one who attended grade 11 and 12 math help three mornings a week and still shed tears over it every other day.  Throughout my prerequisite math studies for my B. Ed. I failed a stats course (the only class I’ve ever failed…too bad it cost $300). Upon handing in my final exam I was certain I did not pass my Math 360 course, which used to be a mandatory B. Ed course at UVic.  My life has been filled with many frustration filled math related tears and over time I have grown to strongly dislike math.

I am proud to say that the times, they are a changin’ over here in Mrs. Alleyn’s math world and that is largely to do with Nikki Lineham’s fantastic math website, Educating Now. Nikki is a brilliant middle school teacher leader in our district; Meaghan and I are both fortunate and grateful to have had access to her website through our respective schools.  Nikki’s site is a business, and therefore runs by paid subscription, so I won’t divulge the inner workings of her lesson I’m blogging about today, but I do want to share how the lesson went for my grade 8s.  I also want to share how Nikki’s work has turned me in to a more confident math teacher, which is something I never thought I’d ever be!

Today in math my grade 8s and I were working on the concept of “preservation of equality”, that is: “What does the = sign really mean?” My class came up with all kinds of answers to this question, but not a single student was able to tell me that the = sign actually means to BALANCE both sides of the equation.  I was so pleased that no one was able to tell me that = means “balance” because it meant I had found a weakness in their understanding (and, my own understanding, if I’m honest!) We then worked with the concept of a scale/teeter totter and I ended up holding various objects in my hands, arms outstretched, pretending I was on one end of the teeter totter and Charlee, my 1.5 year old daughter, was on the other end.  We talked about what would happen and came to the conclusion that because I am obviously heavier than Charlee, the teeter totter would launch Charlee high in the sky.  We then discussed what might happen if Joel, my husband, joined Charlee on the teeter totter.  Obviously his added weight would raise me into the air.  We then discussed how we could even out the weight between my family on the teeter totter and decided that if Charlee came to my side, perhaps she and I would balance Joel.  It was so interesting to me to use my family in the analogy because I had never thought of the = sign this way before.

Let it be known that my grade 8 class has a very wide range in mathematical competency – I’m talking a range from about grade 4 to grade 11.  I think the best part of today’s lesson is what came next…

After some more work with numbers and teeter totters and balancing my grade 8s set out to complete their learning task, which was to create five questions solving for x, while using the teeter totter concept to help them answer their questions.  Check out the differentiation that occurred once my students let loose:

Are you freaking out as much as I am freaking out over how awesome this learning task is? My struggling learners were able to use the teeter totter to help solidify what the = sign means; therefore, bringing them to a deeper understanding of algebra. My very advanced learners were able to differentiate the task to meet their level of ability, while still being challenged by the pictorial component (let me assure you, my strongest math students are rock solid when it comes to doing math in a procedural manner, but they do struggle when they need to show their work conceptually, as you will notice above).

As I sit here writing this post I am in awe that I taught this lesson today.  I keep thinking, “I did this!? I understand this!?” Today’s lesson was a huge learning experience for me and for many of my students.  I was not taught math like this, but our redesigned math curriculum calls for concrete, pictorial and symbolic representation of student learning, which is why I am so grateful for Nikki’s lessons and teachings.  Nikki’s work has certainly made me a more confident math teacher.

P.S: Meaghan and I, along with a handful of our teacher friends, plan to take Jo Boaler’s new online, self-paced math course this August.  Click HERE to check it out and let us know if you want to join our math posse.  We are certainly interested in collaborating about math over the internet with our international teacher friends and readers!

Note: Tale of Two Teachers is in no way financially affiliated with Educating Now. We simply love their work and both use it regularly in our respective classrooms.This post was written with permission from Nikki Lineham, teacher in SD61 and part of Educating Now. 

No pencils, no papers, no problems

My grade 8s have a very exciting year end trip coming up! In a few weeks all the grade 8s in our school will head out on a paddling and camping trip, which they have been preparing for since January.  Our school is incredibly lucky in that we are situated right on the ocean – some classrooms even have a pretty sweet view – allowing us easy access to the water.  Our school is also incredibly lucky to have two very dedicated teacher leaders who have taken on and developed the Big Canoe program over the last few years.  Check out last year’s trip!

It’s been an interesting experience hearing about all the prep my grade 8s have been doing because indeed they are not only “my grade 8s” – I share them with my teaching partner, Amy.  Most canoe prep days have taken place on Amy’s work days, not mine, so it has been easy for me to be far removed from the program.  That said, in the last two weeks our final paddling “training” days have taken place on MY work days and I definitely cannot complain!

Happiest teacher in all the land.

Admittedly, most of my work days are filled with meetings before and after school and during breaks, two massive handfuls of behaviour issues, a handful of parent/staff emails to send, a handful of pencils to dish out (because while we can be prepared for canoeing, we are never prepared for math!), a handful of extra photocopying to do…you know what I’m saying?  There isn’t a lot of time to kick back and breathe in the glory that is these last few weeks of grade 8 with my students.  These last few weeks are precious.  Nerves are uncertain and sometimes behaviours come out stronger than ever (and with every behaviour being a form of communication, my goodness…So. Much. Communicating). The end of grade 8 is full of transition days to high school, final IEP meetings with families, ceremony prep galore, wrapping up assignments, report card writing, class party planning, field trips…it’s busy times.

Our days on the water these last few weeks have provided me with one calming thought:

No pencils, no papers, no problems.

During these last few weeks I’ve witnessed my (our) grade 8s work together in ways I thought were unimaginable back in November.  I’ve seen the struggling learners be leaders in the canoes.  I’ve seen my “usual crew” rise up and build shelters, row in sync with one another, and share chocolate treats with their friends.  I’ve seen the more reserved and reluctant students shine brightly as their confidence on the water grows.  There is just so much learning that happens out there with 13 bodies crammed into one canoe – we have no pencils, we have no papers, and we truly have no problems.  It’s beautiful.

I think, for me, the icing on the cake was being present with some of my students and staff at a recent town hall meeting where our canoe program was presented to local politicians.  Three of my students stood up to speak about how the canoe program has impacted them and influenced their learning.  Things like teamwork, resilience, creativity and perseverance were brought forward.  As I sat in the (very small) audience my teacher heart glowed with pride for these brave, young people who spoke truth about their learning outside of the classroom and who brought the importance of our school’s canoe program to attention with their testimonies.

I can’t wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for these incredible kids!

Teach it Tuesday: Language Arts Gems

This is going to be a quick post to give a few ideas on some of my favourite activities for language arts right now:

Partner Reading

I started doing this activity last year with a novel study and it has become one of my favourites. It is so simple but allows for some great opportunities! I pair kids up (we have AB partner magnets with their names so that’s quickest for me to do in the morning after attendance) and they read the assigned chapters out loud to each other switching at the paragraph or page, their choice.

Things I love about it:

• The sound of 15 kids reading out loud (but quietly) at the same time!
• How easy it is to just read with a partner that you don’t know well (I’ve noticed much easier than having a discussion at the middle school level)
• The ability to poke my head in and listen to kids read – for assessment or enjoyment!

Beginning, Middle, End Writing

Reluctant writer writing away

This activity is originally from 6+1 Traits of Writing but I’ve adapted it a bit to fit with in class and tutoring. For one of the students that I tutor, this is the only activity that I’ve done where he has willingly sat down and wrote almost a page! Basically you just give students the beginning, middle, and end of the story and they fill in the rest.

Things I love about it:

• It allows for creativity without that feeling of being totally lost in options that can come with creative writing
• It can be adapted to different interests and situations (for tutoring we threw in the dogs name – always a hit!)
• This activity can easily be accessed by students of different ability levels as a quick write with guidance
• I think already having the ending there takes away the pressure of getting your story to the end and helps students write

Quote and Note

I’ve written about this one before (here) but it continues to be a favourite! I haven’t been able to get as in depth into this one this year due to time constraints but it has still been rather effective after a lot of scaffolding to get them to the right spot.

Things I love about it:

• The concept is simple for students to understand but the writing you get can be really in depth
• Again, it allows students to access at what level they are at
• It really helps me to get a good idea of students comprehension of the novel we are reading

What are some of your classroom favourites these days?

To Reward or Not?

Classroom rewards are often a point of contention… What is best for kids? And for the things you do want to reward what do you give as a prize? It has taken me a little while in my teaching practice to figure out what exactly I believe in here – when is it okay to give rewards and when does it undermine the values I am trying to instill?

Personally, I do not believe in rewarding behaviour on a regular basis. I think that being ready for class is an expectation. As is being a good classmate or helping clean up the class. My students do not expect to be rewarded for these behaviours, it is the expectation that this is how they act.

Having said that there are times when I do offer rewards in class. When we forget to clean up at the end of the day and I need incentive for a few to stay after and help with the cleanup. Occasionally during math (right after recess) I offer a reward for those that are ready to go and started on the warm-up without being asked, because even in May we still struggle with this transition. Prizes for classroom games we play every so often. And, although I haven’t done it this year, I believe that offering rewards to speak French in class is useful because speaking in another language is scary, students need practice, and often there isn’t a ton of intrinsic motivation for this one.

So then the second question – What do you give as rewards? This has always been a tough one because, especially in middle school, what can you give that students will actually like? I do not believe in giving any kind of food reward like candy but often find that it is the only thing students really seem to want as a prize so I cave and buy it anyways. This year, besides the odd holiday treat, I have not given out any candy or food prizes. I found the next best thing…

Scholastic Mustache Pencils! And no, this post is not sponsored, I honestly just love these pencils so much! The kids get excited about them, they are relatively inexpensive (especially if you have Scholastic bonus coupons!), they aren’t made of sugar, and kids are less likely to lose them.

I also have a bunch of other fun pencils and colourful erasers as prizes, as well as glowsticks from the dollar store. I think if I offered a choice of candy or these then candy would still win but since they only get the choice of which pencil colour they still get pretty excited.

Added teacher bonus – the more pencils you give out the less kids say “I don’t have a pencil”! But yes, I still here it a few times a day.

I think students can get excited about whatever you give out if you do it in a fun way too! I had a really tough grade 8 class last year who were definitely in that “too cool” for anything phase, but we did Friday stickers after class cleanup and I just played it off as a big joke – in a mock preschool teacher voice saying “Okay class you did such a wonderful job cleaning up that I have a sticker for you!” Then they would roll their eyes at me… but 75% of the class would be lined up for their sticker at the end of the day!

So all in all, for me classroom rewards are meant for fun and to show students that you care but they do not reward for expected behaviours.

What do you use for classroom rewards?

Meaningful Connections: iPads and Buddies

A few weeks ago, my friend Lindsay (her guest post is here) and I got our classes together for a buddy afternoon. We started talking about getting our classes together as soon as I got my job, since our schools are within walking distance. Before Spring Break we started planning what we would do together and since we both have been incorporating technology through iPads into our classrooms we decided to have our students use iMovie together to create a video.

I had a small group of my students create an example video on “How to be a middle school student” that we showed at the beginning of our afternoon together. Then, with a buddy they had to make a four shot iMovie under the “How to…” model. We gave them about 45 minutes to create their videos outside and then we came back inside and watched them.

Some video topics:

• How to make a daisy chain
• How to play tag
• How to score a goal (soccer)

What went well?

I absolutely loved watching my students work with the younger students to create their videos. It is always so interesting to watch them in a leadership role and to see who takes charge or not. Leaving the instructions broad allowed for a lot of creativity and it became a good conversation starter between the students – “What do you like to do?” etc. Some of the videos turned out really well and the different experiences both classes have had with iMovie really allowed for some teachable moments to happen between the grades.

What would I change?

Initially we had paired them in groups of two, many students joined together to make a bigger group. I think I would just pair them in groups of 4-5 students from the beginning because it really seemed to help them with the ideas and the filming as well. Another thing I would change is the example video that we showed didn’t really end up being a great example and I think it led students off in a bit of a different direction. Now that we have some good examples to show I think this part will work better next time.

Where to next?

After our buddy day, Lindsay let me know that her students were now doing “How to” videos for their Social Studies projects and I thought I would incorporate that as well. My class ended up making “How to be an Ancient Greek” videos for their final projects on our Ancient Greece unit. They turned out really well and it was interesting to see how they turned their research into videos in a similar format to what they had worked on with their buddies.

In the long run the iPad is just a tool and what we need to do is make meaningful, engaging experiences for our students with this tool. The communication skills and leadership that were needed with the buddies was a great experience for all of my students! And the skills to make the “How to” video helped them to summarize their knowledge in a content area later on.

Do you have buddy classes at your school?

How do you use technology to enhance your lessons?

Teach it Tuesday: Drawing Circles

A main part of the new curriculum in BC are the core competencies: communication, thinking, and personal/social. I have been trying to be a little more deliberate to incorporate these into my planning. Here is one activity that I tried the day before Spring Break, and considering the timing it went really well!

Materials:

Each group needs:

• Large paper
• String
• Pencil
• Compass or geotool
• Meter stick
• Instruction sheet

Instructions: I took some of the bonus questions from a different resource that I can’t seem to find again. If anyone knows the source please let me know and I will update to include the link.

Document: Drawing Circles Challenge

Front – On one side of your groups paper you need to draw the following circles:
A. Circle with a diameter of 80 cm.

B. Circle with a radius of 10 cm.

C. Circle with a diameter of 5 cm.

D. Circle with a radius of 0.5 cm.

Back – Try as many of these challenges as you can:
A. How big does a circle need to be to fit two smaller circles with 4 cm diameter inside? Draw it!

B. Draw a quadrilateral (rectangle, square, parallelogram) and see if you can draw a circle inside that touches all four sides of the quadrilateral.

C. Using only circles, can you create a familiar shape (star, heart, etc.)?

How it worked for us:

Hard at work

For my class I gave very minimal instructions for this assignment. We reviewed briefly how to use the geotool to draw circles (slightly more complicated then a compass for some) and then I gave them the materials and sent them on there way. I really wanted this to be a collaborative problem solving activity and it became just that! It was very interesting to see how students worked together and came up with solutions.

Drawing the large circle with the string took longer than I expected but I absolutely LOVED the conversations about radius and diameter that came from the activity. Communication and creative thinking came out in full force for this activity! I also loved that the creative part of it allowed for different students to take leadership roles than normally occurs with math group work.

We used almost a full double block to complete this (two 43 minutes periods) but keep in mind that it was the Friday before Spring Break so focus was not the easiest… If I were to do it again I would definitely keep it in a double block and I would follow up with some meaningful reflection/discussion.

How do you bring the core competencies into the math classroom?

If you use this activity, I would LOVE to hear how it goes!

Creativity. Passion. Compassion.

This post was inspired by this video that I just watched:

Being a middle school teacher I see this struggle of adolescence becoming themselves on a daily basis – And I LOVE this idea of honoring the rebellious state of mind, of truly encouraging our young minds to think for themselves, of being a necessary support system for our teenagers to use as they learn to navigate this world. Let’s honor and celebrate the development that these youth are going through.

This week I noticed a very drastic change of two students in my class who are normally good friends. I talked to them each individually and they expressed the need to talk it out together but were either scared, nervous, or too angry to address the issues with each other. Since it was apparent that neither student was able to continue through the day without these issues being addressed (and luckily I had a prep block to spend the time with them) I helped to initiate the conversation between them but they weren’t talking or opening up. I shared with the students that when we open up and share what’s bothering us our friendships become stronger and we learn and grow from these moments. And then I left them in the room. My heart was hurting for these students caught in an all too familiar situation (something I had dealt with many times in my own adolescence) and I was worried that the conversation might not happen without me there, or that one student might not be heard out, or that the problem might get bigger… But I left the room. I wasn’t leaving them to deal with it because I didn’t want to help or because it was “wasting” my prep block. I left them to deal with it because I know that next time I might not be there – next time there might not be any adult – and the best way for them to learn to be vulnerable and honest with each other is to practice. And this time it worked. I don’t know what they talked about, I don’t know what solutions they found. All I know is that they are now friends again and they found a way to communicate – to hold compassion for each other.

If we don’t give our students the space they need to find their own answers and make their own mistakes, how will they know what to do when we aren’t around?

And what about school work? Instead of sitting and doing worksheets or following step by step lessons – How do we help our students form the connections in their brains that happen through truly meaningful learning? I think that a big part of that is letting go and stepping back. We are facilitators in their learning, we are not instructors. We are their as a support network when things are tough, we are not the solutions to problems. Sometimes it is hard to let go, not simply because we want to be in control but also because it’s hard to know how to let go when what was modeled to us was the opposite. I saw my students come alive with passion this week in their science projects (Water Animal Books) when they were looking at different animals they could research. Whether it was the freedom to choose their project, the creativity in how to present the information, or the connection they feel to living creatures, I’m not sure – perhaps all three?

We talk a lot about personalized learning in today’s education climate, but what does this really mean? To me it means giving space for thoughts and creativity to arise and flourish, it means letting students figure out the “tough stuff” on their own sometimes, and it means letting go and not expecting any particular result. It means that students need to find connections between what they are passionate about and what the world is in need of. When we are looking at our adolescence we need to allow them a balance of space and support (enabling constraints in the education theory world) to be creative, passionate, and compassionate – this is all I want for my students.

Creativity. Passion. Compassion.

When I step into my classroom next week I am going to honor adolescence by appreciating the rebellion, choosing to let go a little more, supporting students in the search for their own knowledge, and sharing my love with my students. I want my students to find their own ways to grow into creative, passionate, and compassionate adults. I will model this and facilitate this but I will understand that I cannot control how it is done. They are rebelling for freedom because freedom is needed for growth. And growth is needed for change. And change is needed so desperately in this world.

Go To Lessons: Phys Ed

So as you may have read here, we have been trying to compile some of our favourite “Go To Lessons” for different subjects. Most of these were developed for the substitute teacher but can easily be used as one off lessons for the regular classroom teacher as well. Also, check out our new Teachers Pay Teachers store for more ideas!

This here is really my “Go To” lesson for any PE class I teach (grades 4 and up) – I use it pretty much everytime I teach PE if there isn’t a lesson plan left for me. I like it because the three games are a progression on each other and all three are really popular with students. I follow the old adage where you finish a game on it’s high point and then switch it up but by keeping the games relatively similar I find that students are engaged throughout the class wondering what comes next.

I always play them in the order that follows and then if there is time left in the class I ask the students to vote on their favourite game and we re-play that one.

*Head Shot Rule: If anyone hits anyone in the head it is a 2 minute sit out whether it is an accident or not. I always use this rule and stand by it because it makes kids really careful about their throws and eliminates the he said she said of “But I didn’t mean to…”

1. Ga-Ga Ball

This started as a summer camp favourite for me but has soon become a go to indoor game as well.

Goal: To be the last one standing

Supplies needed: dodgeballs (usually 6-8 in a class of 25-30), half of a gym (must have distinct boundaries)

Rules: To start the game we throw the balls in the air and yell “Ga-Ga Ball” as they hit the ground. After that all the balls must remain on the ground and cannot be picked up at any point. Students must use and open hand or fist to hit the ball towards others (we play knees down for this game as the ball shouldn’t be leaving the ground). If you get hit below the knees you need to remember who hit you and go to the outside of the boundaries. When the person who hit you gets out then you get to go back into the game. I usually yell “free life” a few times and have everyone get back in just to keep it going.

2. Poison Ball

This is an easy progression from Ga-Ga Ball by just adding a couple of rules (same equipment and boundaries).

Rules: You may now pick up the ball but when the ball is in your hand you cannot move your feet. You must hit waist down for this game and if you are hit you sit down right where you were hit and can’t move from that position. If you get a ball while you are down you can hit someone who is standing up to get back up (so they go down and you get up). Again, I often yell “free life” and let everyone back up to keep the game going.

3. Chinook Ball

This game only has one change from Poison Ball but it definitely adds another element that works really well (especially in the older grades!)

Rules: Same as Poison Ball except now if you are down and you get a ball you can pass it to other people who are down (as long as it doesn’t touch the ground in between) to make a train. When someone who is standing gets hit by the ball then every person who was a part of the train gets to stand back up. This usually keeps the game going long enough without needing to call “free life.”

I love how well this sequence of games works together! I really like that by the time you get to Chinook Ball the kids really buy into the teamwork aspect. I find it makes a big difference doing the progression instead of just playing a couple of different games and the class feels way more organized to me. My biggest tip for PE lessons… Join in! The kids will absolutely love it if you play with them and it makes for a nice break in the teaching day to run around a little bit.

My “Someday Job”…

So around here “Back to School” fever is just starting to set in. This involves waiting impatiently by your phone for calls about jobs, thinking about lesson planning, trying to fit in those last few “must do’s” of the summer and all the rest!

In amongst that I’ve started working summer camps as I needed a little bit of income after a summer of not working. The camp I’m running is a food prep/nutrition camp offered throughout the city at a very low cost to families. I was a little nervous stepping into the role as it isn’t within my realm of experience but I have really loved the mix of teaching and summer camp that it has brought. It’s really started me thinking about what my ideal teaching job would be. Now being a new teacher in a tough district means I will take pretty much anything and everything in the next couple of years until I build up my seniority but until then I can dream about my “Someday Job.” My “Someday Job” isn’t the for sure be all end all of my teaching career because I change my mind about what I want to do daily if not hourly; my “Someday Job” is just the job that I want to do for sure for at least a year because it has the components of a lot of my favourite aspects of teaching.

A “dream job” kind of feeling…

So what would it be?

Grade: 7/8

I absolutely LOVE middle school! Most people I tell that too look at me like I’m a little insane but the ones who don’t, the ones who “get it”, just nod and agree because there really is no place like it! Every middle school I’ve been in has been different but there is something at the core of this age group that I just absolutely love. Grade 6 is a little on the young side for me so I’ve ruled that out. I absolutely love both grade 7 and grade 8 for very different reasons so I think a grade 7/8 split class would be my favourite (and yes I know most people don’t wish for split classes but I like the balance of combining age groups!)

Subjects: Math, French, English (and maybe Phys. Ed)

Math is my favourite subject to teach because I love using manipulatives, working out problems and watching those “Aha!” moments. French is a new one to this list – over the past year it quickly became a favourite because of the flexibility of the curriculum and the ease of tying it in with my passions in global education. English or Language Arts makes this list easily because I love watching students develop their communication skills and I love how much insight and connection you can gain through a subject that you can easily relate to their passions. And then there is PE… I love physical activity, sports, nutrition, and health education in general but I haven’t had too much opportunity to teach it at the middle school level. Elementary PE I could do in a heartbeat but I think I need some more professional development to feel totally comfortable with PE at the middle school level.

Other factors…

When I get this job I think I’d like to know at least 2 weeks before school starts so the panic isn’t as crazy as the “one weekend to plan everything” kind of stress. I don’t really care what school I’m at as long as I get to work with some of the amazing staff that I know in our district. Also, I’d obviously like to have a classroom right next to Karley so we can team teach, idea share, and blog about it all – We know that you readers would love this too right? Come on school district!

So what about you…

Are you in your dream job or “someday” job right now?

What grade/subject would it be? Or what school would it be at?

My June Survival Guide

So this has been my first year teaching in the month of June. And I think I’ve learned more about teaching in June than anything else this year! (Well that might be a bit of an exaggeration… But still!)

So many “wish I’d known that” moments… Here is my advice to myself for teaching in June

1. NO PROJECTS! Don’t assign projects due in the middle of June. The kids don’t want to do them and I sure don’t want to mark them while I’m trying to do report cards.

2. KEEP IT SIMPLE… I thought they talked too much in class the rest of the year? Just wait! June is the cant sit down, can’t stop talking, can’t pay attention month of all months! I am learning to keep my instructions short and virtually fool proof the closer we came to the end of the year.

3. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. No matter how much I am in love with my job by June I am tired! Soooo tired! Don’t plan to do huge, elaborate, takeshourstoplan lessons or activities! And please just try to get enough sleep because it will never feel like enough!

4. PLAY GAMES! I will never be more thankful for my 8 years of summer camp experience than I am in June. Games, games, games… My saving grace!

Field Games

5. KNOW THAT TIME WILL NOT BE ON YOUR SIDE… Between all of the talking, the yelling, the assemblies, the field trips, and the craziness that June brings – I will never have the class time I think I have! Don’t plan too much and don’t stress when it doesn’t all get done… It’s June!

6. YOU’RE IN THIS TOGETHER. Remember that the kids feel done and so do I… I think reminding each other of this fact is helpful in remaining respectful to each other and somewhat productive.

7. IT’S FOR THE KIDS! In the end, those kids come first and matter the most. Soak up every last minute with those beautiful souls! Have those meaningful conversations and take time with each and every student!

So I had a lot to learn this June… But guess what? I survived! And although it was truly crazy and frustrating and joyful and stress-inducing… It was totally worth it! I’m so glad to have those last few weeks with my students and have the time to spend without worrying as much about the curriculum or marking or assessment.

In June, I got to enjoy playing games and chatting. I got to shake their hands as they graduated from middle school. I was able to reflect on those little things that matter the most. I built better relationships with my students. In June, I learned a lot as a teacher and a person… and in the end I had a great time!

Being new in the district I am unsure about job prospects for next year but it worked out so well this year that, although I’m a little anxious, I am mainly just excited to see what is up next!

Can you add to my list of things to remember in June?

How was your last month of school?