WEEK IN MY [teacher] LIFE | Ep. 6

[@chandlersampson]

Lauren, your passion for teaching and your positivity simply shine. Your students are so blessed to have you as their teacher and you better never forget it! 💗

[@jasiejames9605]

You could do a secret student everyday. Each week you choose something to focus on like waiting your turn, cleaning up, walking quietly in the hall, etc. In the morning you draw a student name and through out the day you watch them. Don’t announce who it is until the end of the and only if they did what they were supposed to. You can give them any reward. I would usually put their name back in the bucket to draw another time if they didn’t have a good day. This worked so well for my students. During the day I would say like “the secret student is doing awesome” or “ aww man the secret student is struggling to...” They get so into it. It’s also good practice for celebrating for other students when you don’t win.

[@hunterrific99]

yes! i can attest to this! this works really well with my kiddos. (I'm K-6 music in VA at a school with students with similar needs to your students) :)

[@maretzybarrera]

Don't let teacher guilt get to you. I have 17 years in and I am still learning. This is your first year don't be so hard on yourself you are doing great.

[@egtupper]

Oh, sweetie, I totally understand how you feel. I've been teaching for 34 years and I'm at a new school. We get a new thing to do almost every week! I can't e en catch up with how to organize guided reading groups and keep up with all the assessments were asked to do. You totally have the right attitude about it. I'm sure the kids will be fine and they are so fortunate to have such an enthusiastic and caring teacher as you. God bless you.

[@kayliee98]

As a substitute teacher seeing your planning and how much detail you give your subs makes me so happy! You can never give the sub too much information honestly! It's beyond helpful.

[@kdm5022]

I really enjoy how transparent you are. I think we all have those feeling of did we mess up with our class. I can tell you are doing a wonderful job

[@reneerosbrugh9438]

I love your energy and passion. Sometimes (maybe because I’ve been doing this for so long) I get into a rut. Things are going fine and there’s no real problems so I lose my motivation to push myself and continue growing. Or my cynical side comes out and I start to feel like PD is a waste of time because what I’m doing is “good enough”. But watching you is infectious - it helps jumpstart my excitement and re-energizes me to keep going and improving. So thank you 😊

[@chattychanny5048]

I love that quote ! “When you know better, you do better!” This definitely applies to teachers.

[@MandaShell]

Don't worry about those benchmarks. Don't let that "teacher guilt" disrupt your self-confidence---you do not need to "do better". You are doing fine---and just tackling the mandates from the state and higher-ups as you are properly informed about them. That, by my definition is doing just fine. Like you said that this is your first year--and honestly even if it was not, it is entirely possible that you could have just simply not been clearly directed in that. So please NEVER be hard on yourself over educational "red tape", even after you have more years under your belt. You just keep doing what is best for those kids--and I know you are.

[@puttingthemfirst]

Amanda Armor Screenshotted this comment to look back on when I have those feelings of overwhelm and guilt again (which I know I will). Thank you Amanda for speaking to my heart 💗

[@MandaShell]

@@puttingthemfirst happy that my words can be a little encouragement to you. Thank you too bc your videos have been a breath of fresh air for me. In my 11th year of teaching at my current district and I can tell you that pushing away teacher guilt and doubt is something I still battle, but I have learned that despite mistakes and forgotten items...teaching is our superpower! Remember that every day, no matter how good or bad it feels in the moment, you make a positive impact on someone's life.

[@SpeakNoww17]

an hour long video on a friday?! Yes please! Grabbing a drink and watching.. it's just like sitting down with a girlfriend! Thanks for sharing and being so honest and real!

[@puttingthemfirst]

Nicole Echelberger OMG glad we could hangout 💃🏼

[@ashleybrewer1404]

Just what I needed after a rough week! I am a first year third grade teacher, and my students are super chatty. I am at my wits end trying to control it! I love watching your videos. It is like chatting with an old friend, and I am going through so many of the same things!

[@rachellestewart9946]

I use a Mr. Potato head if someone is talking out of turn or when I am talking then a piece comes off. If he has all his pieces at end of day they get a small treat. Like a couple of skittles. Works like charm for my class. For small groups I have small jars and when they control themselves and do the center properly i put a puff in their jars and when their groups jar is full they get a small piece of candy. My kids are food motivated.

[@isabelcunningham7992]

Lauren: It’s November and I’m listening to Christmas music. Me: YAS QUEEN! Me too

[@puttingthemfirst]

Isabel Cunningham there is nothing wrong with being holly jolly a little early that’s all I got to say about that!!! ❤️🎄

[@mariariojas3820]

I love how happy you are to be teaching. All I’ve heard since I started school is that I should choose a different profession but this is something that I’m so passionate about. It’s nice to see someone that is genuinely excited and invested in making a positive impact!

[@puttingthemfirst]

Maria Riojas Don’t let anybody talk you out of something you love to do! I wake up happy to do my job everyday and wouldn’t trade that for the world 🤗

[@mckenziecurvin367]

Omg I am loving your channel! I have been binge watching! I am about to go into my final semester of Elementary Edu. and so I’m loving seeing a first year teacher! I have been thinking about starting a channel and this has really encouraged me!

[@tanleggegjulliett]

Something I started this week was table points. So when I notice a table who are listening well and following procedures without a reminder get a point and then the table with the most points at the end of the week get a prize. (My prize is a star on their super improver wall card) but it could be lunch with you or show and tell or something!

[@katelynchapman52]

Send a note home about snacks!! Explain what you’ve noticed at school and you could even attach an article about how eating is linked to academic achievement! I BET a few parents would be sooo willing to help donate a few items every couple weeks and that would help you out so you’re not buying sooo much yourself!! :) never underestimate how willing parents can be when it comes to helping their child succeed!

[@hellokittysnr]

Try reading the book, “My Mouth is a Volcano” for your chatty class and also “Interrupting Chicken”.

[@kristenpratt89]

For talking - I remind my students that part of being a strong learner is listening to others' ideas. There are times when someone else may have a really good idea, but maybe we didn't hear it because we were talking. I often have kids repeat what others say -- example: john can you tell me what bob said? molly will you repeat what john said? ok everybody, what is the answer? That way students who don't know the answer can hear the answer a few times, before being asked to chorally respond. I also will say things like, "wow my brain is having a really hard time focusing because there is so much background noise. Remember we need to stay quiet so we are letting other people's brains work!" I mean essentially, it's about being respectful and learning how to work cohesively in a community setting. I also don't give a lot of chances. If I've asked a student to stop and they continue to talk, I might move them or make them sit with their head down. Because at that point, they are just being disrespectful and not following directions. (This is meant for students who have "normal" impulse control. Students who have a biological reason for not being able to self-regulate, I use other strategies.)

[@samvicario2304]

I'm a first year second grade teacher and I just finished benchmarking my kids with Fountas and Pinnell. Honestly, after the first students, it was pretty easy and I was glad to have the data for guided reading groups! You will do great!

[@megs9197]

LOVE the long videos. It’s taken me 4 days to watch this in segments before bed!

[@scientific_teaching]

Dont stress district mandated benchmarks and their "fidelity". You do what is best for your students and if that means getting less than 100% on fidelity then that means getting less than 100%. Being a first year teacher is hard, I'm just about to finish up my first year and I'm struggling to figure out district stuff too. My students are growing though and that's all that matters

[@susanbrandt6642]

I can totally relate to your mouse problem! I had one last year at about this time as well! It was just like in a movie when a group of people sees a mouse! Total chaos! The kids and I actually watched it get caught in a sticky trap! The janitor came and took it out! It was something!!

[@Emmebayley]

You are doing an amazing job:) Keep up the outstanding work!! You’re school is so lucky to have you! You have gone above and beyond A++++++++++

[@TheChroniclesofTeacherTay]

Looooove your channel! Just subscribed! I watched your first day of school vlog and it legit brought me back to the moment I walked into my school to meet my students for the first time :)

[@amycain856]

I just love your vlogs. This is my 6th year teaching and my 5th year in first grade. You drfinitely have the right outlook. As teachers, we are always learning. We are always "works in progress." When you know BETTER, you do BETTER. I dont think you have any reason to beat yourself up. You clearly love your kids and put a TON of thought into your classroom. I only see what you share so that makes it hard to get a complete picture but I'm blown away by you and I feel like I'm learning from you. May I ask where are you getting ideas for anchor charts for math? That's always something I want to do a better job with but I have a hard time finding anchor charts for 1st grade.

[@krupprecht3]

You’re such a passionate teacher but I like how you work in time to enjoy yourself too! This video was so informative and helpful for a new teacher! I was wondering if you could do a video on centers? It may seem simple but I was just curious how you intro them to your students to run smoothly and be effective while you’re working with small groups. Thanks Lauren 😊

[@KelseyMichelleHeart]

Trust me! I’m a second year kindergarten teacher and still feel exactly like you! It’s because you care so much that you feel so many emotions about teaching.

[@rm-vh8cr]

Hi Lauren! I teach Kinder and one of the things I did while teaching subtraction is to make a large number line, laminate it and then place it on the floor for them to physically stand on and act out the process of subtraction on the number line...boy was this a game changer! I think the physicalness of doing it helped it click for some of them!!! Just an idea!!

[@biancazamudio5507]

You poor thing I hope you feel better 💕 also don't sweat not doing everything perfectly, it's your first year, it's a trial and error sometimes and your doing amazing ☺️

[@desireewright4670]

This was a great video! I have been teaching for 14 years and never feel caught up .🤣 We also do Fauntas and Pinnell guided reading. I love it but it is a lot of work to benchmark the kids. Our district actually decided to only do benchmarking twice a year. It is also a lot of planning for guided reading groups. I meet with a total of 6 groups. My lowest groups 4 times a week and my higher groups 2 times. But I have seen so much growth in my 1st graders since we started the program 2 years ago. So please keep us posted on how you plan for groups. Have fun in Florida!! It’s snowing here in OHIO 😩

[@duanesanders9710]

I guess you enjoyed the Florida game. Lol. What a blowout! I'm a First Grade teacher in Tennessee!

[@ashleyclemments6688]

I have a SUPER chatty class this year in fifth grade and I have implemented something that I call "Blurt Points". We have a Friday reward that the students are working towards. Students earn a point every time someone blurts out. Their goal is to have as few points as possible at the end of the week. My rewards are things like five minutes of free time, playing a fun Kahoot, free seat choice, funny videos, etc. I don't do rewards that cost me money. 0-3 points for the week = Full Reward 4-6 points for the week= Half the Reward 8+ points for the week= No Friday Reward This has worked pretty well in my classroom this year! I hope this helps!

[@biancazamudio5507]

Oh and the talking thing...do you have a talking peice....my kids kinder teachers and I do it as well with my pre schoolers....they have a stuffed animal or an object of some sort that's special and they only get to hold it when it's their turn to talk. When you have it it's your turn when they get to hold it it's theirs. It works so well in small groups, circle time, and classwide instruction. It's really helpful. Also "1,2,3 eyes on me..." then they say "1,2 eyes on you"

[@hkgirlyork2703]

You are doing great!! Do NOT let teacher guilt steal your joy! First year teaching is difficult! :) I'm retired now (after 37 years as a public school teacher), but we had weekly meetings at my school and talked about all this in detail (maybe even more than I wanted ;) Love your excitement and energy!

[@hkgirlyork2703]

...and I am still teaching (actually) just online now (with VIPKID). I'm in my second year with them, and I love it!! I watch teacher videos while I do my lesson planning. :)

[@puttingthemfirst]

Thank you so much! I’m lucky to have veteran teachers in this space to encourage and offer advice along the way. & VIPKid is a wonderful company- I was able to teach with them through my masters and buy myself a new car for graduation!

[@HaileyCarvalho]

My mouth dropped when you said you got a new student in the middle of the day, I've been binge watching your videos and it's like every vlog you get a new student omg 😂

[@HappilyOrganizedChaos]

I haven’t watched all your videos yet (just a few more to go 💕) but have you read the Jan Richardson book you were gifted? That book has so many wonderful ideas and it also has videos to watch to help you! I highly recommend them ☺️ I think that is amazing that y’all do free breakfast and lunch at your school. You are such an amazing and thoughtful teacher, your sweet kiddos are so lucky to have you 💕

[@amycain856]

How are you liking those warmups? I think having the mindset of "when you know better, do better" is spot on. We are always learning. You should be very proud of yourself.

[@Msmay103]

Would love to see a video about how you run math centers and reading centers!

[@PatMcFadyenGrowingGradeByGrade]

Please continue doing the great job you're doing and don't beat yourself up about the reading assessments. It's impossible to learn everything the first year - or any year. Like you said, going forward you'll know what to do. I do wonder why another teacher or admin didn't stop in and mention it earlier. Hang in there!

[@kaylynm4193]

Thanks for blogging your week. Hope your trip home is a good one.

[@annebingham7583]

Hi Lauren, You are such a conscientious and awesome teacher when in only 2-3 months time you have packed in so much (!) .....setting up a classroom from scratch for the first time and getting all your lesson plans ready and having all your meetings and conferences etc., etc. That's a lot in such a short span of time ! Does your school district have mentors for new teachers ?? I can't remember if you talked about that before. There should be (!) and to me, those things should have also been brought up by your principal. ! So, don't let yourself get into a "guilt trip". You have just barely begun a new school year and I feel you should have had some more direction and support from your veteran teachers around you. And as you realized, the very next day, what you had already done was actually good with your reading students ! Now it sounds like it only needs to be fine tuned once you were given the additional information. So Good Goin' Gator Girl !! ... from a retired teacher in Florida. that you may remember (?) If not, that's OK. I sure remember you and love following your life and career. Love you, mean it ! A.B from The Villages, Florida.

[@liannejosbacher536]

I love your videos and thank you for sharing your first-year experience for those who are on their way to become future educators :) When you mentioned about managing your students talking during instruction, one idea that comes to mind is doing a Talking Tree- this would be a behavior management reward system that applies for the whole class. You can start the tree with all of the leaves, which represents all students in your classroom, and when your kids talk/talk after you give them (x) amount of warnings, you take a leaf away from the tree. So depending on how frequent you want to reward your students, if they have all the leaves on by the end of the day or by the end of the week, they get a whole class reward. If they lose (x) amount of leaves, then they do not get the whole class reward. You could start with this for however long until you start to see progress and slowly fade this so it becomes more of natural consequences. Hope this helps and again, thanks for being an inspiration while finishing my masters program!

[@eeeeee1338]

Love your videos! Your classroom looks amazing! 😀 Have a awesome day!

[@puttingthemfirst]

Chill and Study thank you!!

[@stephenconte9629]

33:52 get a stoplight carts

Helping words.... helping words ....helping words.

[@lisseths21]

I love watching your videos. I saw on instagram from another teacher a strategy she uses to diminish student talking. she gave them 2 minutes to talk to each other and then she said " ok it's my time to talk and for you to listen" maybe that will work for you since they already had time to talk to their friends.

[@sinairobinson755]

You should use blurt beans !!! Once I used it I have few to none talking out.

[@devinnebone8156]

Love your video!! So many good tips for my future classroom! What was your coffee order for the cheaper version of a latte at Starbucks? 🙂

[@nicolettemarino1841]

Same boat with the mice in my classroom too! 😬😬

[@SarahAnn91]

So many senior teachers conduct benchmark testing incorrectly and either don’t care or don’t care to learn how to do it differently. It confuses me massively. I’d much rather do it properly and give a lower score than give them a score when they can’t actually comprehend.

[@awsome2201]

Do you have a lot of requirements from your school district as a first year teacher? I feel like mine is always something crazy happening. Teacher license training, orientations, other trainings, PLCs.. it's like the list of things I have to go to after school are never ending.

[@chattychanny5048]

The kids come at 6:40? That is so early!

[@McGoughHeather]

Chatty Channy I think she misspoke. I believe the kids get there for 7:40 not 6:40.

[@heymeranda]

Is that 19 with the mouse?😂😂

[@meaghanrons7781]

Blurt beans helped my class a lot!

[@aliciacarroll6098]

Maybe try class bingo? I do this at the middle school level. How it works is you can get/make a 100 square bingo board and decide on the goal the class is working towards. You can choose if they only need 10 in a row or full board to win. Start of class they start with three stars and if there is a class disruption (side convos that pull in other students, etc.) that causes the class to stop they lose a star. At the end of the day how many stars they have left will be how many bingo numbers are pulled. To adjust it to meet an elementary class perhaps you could start with more stars? And to pull numbers I use a random number generator on my phone

[@annahungerford5936]

I used to buy snacks for my classroom and it got so costly! Try asking parents to donate extra to the classroom. It helped me soooo much! 👍

[@lamc2008]

Please do a video on centers! #firstyearteacher

[@chattychanny5048]

Have you tried teacher versus students before? Every time you have to redirect, teacher gets a point and look for times they aren’t talking and they get a point. At the end of the day, if the students get more points, they can earn a prize at the end of the week or after so many days of winning. I’ve seen different variations, but I like it for minimizing talking. willteachfortacos.com/2018/11/25/teacher-vs-students-class-management-game/

[@kittyquick9325]

I’m am the exact same way with showing up early. 🙋‍♀️ Even if I try to leave late it’s like my internal clock won’t allow it!! 😂

[@puttingthemfirst]

Kitty Quick Glad I’m not alone!!! Parking lot squad LOL

[@mellobell089]

Do you have a video about your centers?

[@olguiortiz3687]

I’m required to do guided reading, have no idea how to do it, and no training. Please share what you learned about guided reading. PLEASE!

[@TipTopDreamer]

Inform your school about the mouse so that they can bring in professional help (i.e. pest control) to trap it and remove it from the class. Usually, mice live in families, so there's probably more than one mouse living in your classroom, which is not safe and highly unhygienic.

[@sarahelizabeth8270]

A coworker of mine used beat the teacher in her room and she had great success with it! She had the game boards set up on her board right next to where she had her classroom rug and if they were being chatty, she would silently give herself a point. If they did really well during the mini lesson, they would get a point. If they filled up their board or got to a certain amount of points, they got a prize.

[@Jessica-lp1uf]

Sarah Buckalew this strategy works wonders!!!! I was about to suggest it as well!

[@puttingthemfirst]

Sarah Buckalew I will have to try this!! I have a marble jar type reward for the whole class, but maybe the element of competition with me will help. Ready to try anything for these chatterboxes!!!! Lol thank you ❤️

[@abbyb49]

I had several mice in my freshman dorm room. They also lived in the heater. apparently it keeps their nests and babies warm...

[@annanelson3418]

Cant believe your kids show up at 640!!! That's so early.

[@puttingthemfirst]

anna nelson maybe I misspoke- I get there at 6:30/6:40 but the kiddos don’t come in until 7:40! 😊

[@HappilyOrganizedChaos]

I would love to know how you do math small group! That’s one of my goals for this year is to create daily math (just like I have daily 5 for literacy) ☺️

[@momoorainey4508]

Buy some mouse sticking pads and put them around your classroom it’s really help

[@shannonlee808]

You should see the facebook series by Jen Jones. She is AMAZING when it comes to guided reading.

[@PuttingFourthEffort]

please please PLEASE do not feel like it is at all your fault about the Fountas and Pinnell situation. If your administration did not tell you you need to be doing it, that is not on you!! Being a new teacher is HARD! give yourself grace and be thankful you chose to attend that PD so you now know what you should be doing!

[@Emmebayley]

PS in case you get any visitors you might want to put up some words on your word wall. Just a helpful hint:)

[@ahra6598]

I know this is very very late. But fountas and pinnell has no research or data to back up their program- none. Doing fundations is more beneficial and assessing using dibells is more illuminating.

[@Mell_1230]

If they get x number of tallies as a whole class then they get a reward decided upon before earning tallies. Then you can remind them. Mystery Student Whole Class Behavior System Quiet reading buddy (if they are listening quietly during a read aloud they get to hole a small stuffed animal (could even be fuzz ball with googly eyes)

[@arleenwilliams5600]

You not knowing what your F&P kit was for and not doing the testing is totally not your fault. How were you supposed to know what to do without explicit instruction? At my school we are actually told when to begin testing and when to end, so there is a definite time frame to get it done each time. If your school had something like that you would have been asking, "What is that?" and someone would have told you. Administration always expects teachers to KNOW things or expects them to find out from other teachers, but that is wrong!

[@chailawiseman1546]

Oooh..that new teacher feeling- turns out I should have done this, but I had no idea I was supposed to do it or know it! How was I supposed to know ? #beentheredonethat We just have to learn from it :)

[@RachParis101]

Liked so fast

[@naomibanks9654]

Hi🤯

[@starrydreamer]

Put your food snacks into a rubber bin or that mouse will have some lunch!! Also, where there's one there's more. Your school likely has an infestation. I shudder for you.

[@meghan89]

Do you have a mentor teacher at your school that could be updating you on things like benchmark assessments that need to be done at certain times? Don’t feel guilty. Teaching is hard. Beginning teaching is harder.

[@puttingthemfirst]

meghan89 Unfortunately I don’t - both of us first grade teachers are first years and the second grade teachers are also in their first year at the school. We’re learning these things all together!

[@ashleyhenwood24]

I wondered about a mentor as well! I'm a mentor at my school. Do you have a literacy coach?

[@puttingthemfirst]

ashleyhenwood24 yes!! I will definitely be a bit more reliant on her expertise moving forward. I just didn’t know to ask about it because I didn’t know I was missing anything 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@profmahmad]

Is it possible to contact with you respected teacher We are setting up a school system. We need your help about study contents Please send me your email I shall be very thankful to you for this act of kindness.