A Classroom Moment: The Life and Times of Mr. G

For over 20 years I have been a teacher, and for most of those years I have had a classroom pet of one kind or another. This year our classroom pet is Mr. G, a hamster with a one letter name, a lovable personality, lots of fur, and a tremendous propensity for daytime sleeping. Everyday we all get to enjoy observing his humorous behaviors. On science quiz day my students look forward to “Mr. G Time” when they will all have a moment to pet him or to watch him motor around inside a circle of students seated on the floor.

The first week of each month brings the changing of classroom jobs in my classroom. Of the 25 or so jobs, the Hamster Manager is by far the most coveted job of all. Elizabeth couldn’t wait to get to school to start this new job…Within seconds of arriving to the classroom, Elizabeth rushes over to me and asks, “Since it’s my first day to be the hamster manager, can I go over to take care of Mr. G before The Pledge?”

“Sure, Elizabeth,” I reply without a second thought.

A couple of minutes pass as I am welcoming students and finalizing preparations for the day. Elizabeth returns with a mixture of innocence and genuine confusion to speak with me.  She looks up at me with her big fifth grade eyes and states, “Mr. Farmer, it’s kinda’ creeping me out that Mr. G isn’t moving very much. He’s just kind of sitting there with his feet in the air. Would you mind checking on him?”

I give Elizabeth a reassuring nod and walk over to Mr. G’s cage. As I open the lid there is no doubt… Mr. G has died.

Word spreads through the classroom faster than a lightning bolt, and for a moment, students gather near the cage, half curious, half disbelieving. As the realization sets in, a moment of unexpected silence blankets the room.

Then a click of static from the P.A. system… “Good morning boys and girls. Please stand for The Pledge…”

As The Pledge ends, I sense in the students a need to confirm the reality of the moment. I say to them, “Boys and girls, Mr. G has died.” I explain my experience of having hamsters live one to four years, and reaffirm that Mr. G’s time has come.

“Can we bury him?” Tyler asks.

Olivia adds, “We should bury him next to the redbud tree in the circle. The one that has the heart-shaped leaves”

“Can I go tell all of the other classrooms?” Dominic asks excitedly.

Julia voices with a look of disbelief, “My dog just died this week, too.”

“We should probably put something over the cage to cover it,” Griffin adds.

As we talk of the possibilities for honoring Mr. G, I realize that Casey, the fifth grader who donated Mr. G to our science classroom, has yet to hear the news. I start the children on their morning grammar assignment and slip down the hall to her classroom to tell her privately.

“Casey… there’s something I need to tell you…” Casey hears the words at first, before the meaning hits her. Naturally, tears begin to well up as we walk over to get a tissue. Casey’s homeroom teacher, Mrs. Huster, takes over, offering comfort to Casey… a hug… a phone call home…

It’s decided that Mr. G will be buried at Casey’s home. Although many wanted a school burial, no one questions that this is the right decision for Mr. G and Casey.

As the morning routine kicks in, students’ minds continue to return to Mr. G and what life will be like in his absence. Elizabeth makes a card of reflection. Sidnee offers her family’s water turtle. Olivia quietly leaves a note on my desk offering “when the class is ready” to donate her family hamster.

Children, like adults, have their own way of coming to terms with death, even the death of something as seemingly insignificant as a hamster. Some want to publicly express concern and “do something” while others are more comfortable observing the facts, even occasionally joking to ease their inner feelings of disbelief. Regardless of the reaction, what they all need is permission to experience the moment, and time to gather understanding.

Next week, I will put final closure on this moment of our year together by reading The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: A Story of Life for All Occasions. This book, published before I even began my career, beautifully personifies a dialogue between two leaves of the same tree that are nearing the time when they will fall away from the tree.

And yes, as happens in so many other ways in life, we will one day soon welcome another life, another opportunity for a caring learning experience to the world of our classroom.

Window: Teachers Respond

"A mother and baby look through a window at a view of wilderness and sky as far as they can see.  As Sam, the baby, grows, the view changes..."

Window by Jeannie Baker is a wordless picture book that tells the story of exponential growth and environmental change in a world increasingly populated by humans.

How might you use this book with students to build a positive awareness of human impact? What activity can you envision for your group of preschoolers, elementary students, high schoolers, or adults? Use the Comment feature below to add your thoughts after viewing this book. If you dream up a cool graphic organizer or find an interesting Internet connection, e-mail it and I will link it to this blog.

While you're at it, you may want to check out the author's website: Jeannie Baker.

I hope you find this book as fascinating as I do.  And remember... "When life closes a door, it always opens a Window."

If The World Were a Village: Teachers Respond

"At this moment, there are over 6.7 billion people on the planet! It's hard to picture so many people at one time--but what if we imagine the whole world as a village of just 100 people?"

If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People by David J. Smith tells us who we are, where we live, how fast we are growing, and so much more.

How might you use this book with students? What activity can you envision for your group of preschoolers, fifth graders, high schoolers, adults? Use the Comment feature below to add your thoughts after reading this book. If you dream up a cool graphic organizer or find an interesting Internet connection, e-mail it and I will link it to this blog.

While you're at it, you may want to check out these related Internet links:

• The Miniature Earth
• World Clock
  

Good luck, and may the... village... be with you.

Lettuce See What We Can Grow: Growing an Autumn Class Garden

My fifth graders learn about plants as part of their fall instruction, and I've decided to add something new this year--a fall garden. In Ohio, a garden like this needs to be started by the first week in September.  Our fall garden project has the following student-driven components:

• Preparing the soil (1 day)
• Planting the seeds (1 day)
• Maintaining adequate moisture (15 min.; once each day, if no rainfall)
• Observing growth (20 min.; once each week)
• Harvesting and Eating (30 min./harvest; several days throughout the fall)

Day 1: Preparing the Soil (45 minutes)
There are many ways to prepare a soil plot for fall planting. If no plot exists at your school, I recommend a small raised bed (three or four feet squared) for your first class garden. All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew is a good resource for this. (He also has a number of videos on You Tube.) The video below shows four different science classes working in table teams throughout the day to prepare the soil of an existing garden bed for planting.
Safety note: Notice that, other than the occasional exciting critter discovery, students are working out of arms reach from one another; only one or two table groups are working at a time while the remaining groups work on a seated activity away from the tool area.





Day 2: Planting the Seeds/Watering Begins (45 minutes) 
Materials: small paper cups, compost (or potting soil), seeds (Bloomsdale spinach, black-seeded simpson lettuce, radishes), and a hand watering container
In climates with a mix of the four seasons, there are only so many things you can plant in fall and still get a crop prior to the onset of cold weather. We'll be planting spinach, lettuce, and radishes. All grow well in cooler weather, harvest in two months or less, and grow relatively close to the ground. This makes them easy to cover in the event of an early frost. The video below shows the planting process being managed in a way that provides a structure for every student to participate and take ownership of the garden. Notes: 1) In the past I've planted a garden with one seed cup per table team (4 students). The entire garden (24 seed cups) planted by 100 students fit into a 3x3' space. 2) If you plant at least two seeds per cup, most seed cups will sprout. Plant a few extra for students/teams to adopt if their seedlings don't germinate.



Watering with a hand watering container (sprinkler nozzle on the end) begins on this day and continues daily, unless there is rainfall.  I do not complete daily watering with the whole class.  Some days I water during recess and invite interested students to join in.  Other days I water after students have gone for the day.



Day 3:  Beginning the Investigation (45 minutes) 
Click here to view the Lettuce See What We Can Grow! online student page used in the following investigation (completed as a group using a projection system). 
Questions  Once the garden is planted, we discuss the following questions that we are trying to answer:

• Is it possible to grow food this time of year?
  
• How long will it take for our seeds to germinate?
• How long will it take before we can harvest our food?

Think It Through.  Next, we construct a picture of the (basic) life cycle for seeding plants together and discuss the processes that allow a plant to mature from one stage to the next.  We discuss that all of our garden plants will be harvested at the vegetative stage. (They won't require the extra time needed to flower/produce seeds before they can be harvested since we will eat either the root or leaf, not the fruit/seed.)

Hypotheses  We wrap up the day's lesson by voting on possible hypotheses in a large group.  Each student's hypothesis is recorded on a group chart.

Days 3 to 7: Watering continues (15 minutes daily, if no rain)

Day 8:  Germination Observations/Watering (20 minutes)
Materials: science spirals, watering container
During the first eight days, soil moisture has been maintained by watering seedlings daily.  Before passing day 10, it is important for the whole class to check on the garden in order to accept/reject Hypothesis #1. See wiki page.  Students begin by finding their plants and recording observations with words, numbers, and pictures.  Next, we discuss the differences between the lettuce, spinach, and radish seedlings.  We also discuss the importance of gently watering seedlings so as not to wash them away before students water their seedlings.  Finally, we wrap-up the day's lesson by recording our findings as a group on the class Student Page. See Data and Observations for September 4th.



Days 9-14: Watering continues (15 min. daily, if no rain)

Day 15: Thinning and Observations (including seedling measurements)
Materials: science spiral, ruler, scissors
Now that the seedlings are well underway, it's time to thin out the plants.  Today students will remove all but the largest plant in their seed cup.  Some seedlings will be transplanted to the cups of students whose seeds did not germinate, and some will be left to return nutrients to the soil.  Students will measure the height of their seedlings to the nearest quarter inch, then average their seedling heights with those who are growing the same plant (radish, lettuce, or spinach).




Day 39: Our First Garden Party
Materials (whole class): Six pair of scissors, paper towel, sink area, one bottle of ranch dressing (with a squeeze spout to more easily dispense small amounts)
The last two weeks have produced more rain than average for this time of year, so watering has not been needed.  In fact, the area around the raised garden has been a bit of a moat, though the lettuce, spinach, and radish are high and dry and doing just fine.  I began covering the garden with row cover last week (beginning of October) when an early frost threatened.  It has also been too wet for 100 pairs of feet to garden, so we took advantage of the first entirely sunny (school) day in two weeks to have an early sampling of our produce.  Although the radishes are the tallest plants in the garden, they are still not quite ready.  However, everyone enjoyed either a leaf of lettuce or spinach.  Our procedure for the garden "party" is listed below.

1. Prior to walking to the garden, students wash hands or use hand sanitizer.
   
2. At the garden, six students at a time use scissors to clip ONE leaf from each of their plants. 
3. Back in the room, students rinse their lettuce leaves and place them on a paper towel on their desks.
4. Once students return to their desks and place their lettuce/spinach leaf on their paper towel, the teacher dispenses 1-2 droplets of ranch dressing onto each leaf.
   
5. Let the garden party begin! :)
   

Day 85: Final Harvest and Final Garden Party (November 23rd)
As we near the coming winter months, the fall frosts are growing more frequent.  I placed row cover on the lettuce in late October, though we have only had a handful of frosty mornings.  It has been a warmer than usual fall, but cool enough for slow growth of the lettuce and a delay in the usual bolting and/or bitter taste that usually comes after two months of growth in warming weather.  Ideally, I would have completed the final harvest around Halloween, but other curriculum demands and wet weather prevented this.  Fortunately, the garden has flourished with very little attention since the start of fall.  Today is the last day of school before fall teacher conferences and Thanksgiving break, so it turns out to be a great day for our final garden party.  I am very pleased with the results of our first fall garden, and students are already asking me what we are going to plant in the spring.  But that will need to keep for another day...

Back to School: Establishing Classroom Culture

It's that back-to-school time again. While families are saying goodbye to the different pace of the summer schedule, teachers are welcoming new students and establishing a classroom culture that will set the tone for the school year ahead. This article has the following sections:

• Six Ways I Establish Classroom Culture in the First Week
• Organization Starts the First Hour of the First Day
  
• Share YOUR Ideas and Reflections
  

Six Ways I Establish Classroom Culture in the First Week
The beginning of every school year brings the promise of a new start, but it can also be a time of anxiety for students as well as teachers. As students come to school over the first few days, they will develop a mindset for the year of what is expected of them. The teacher's job is to put in place a framework that will promote a culture of learning and respect. Here are some important components of my first week with students.

1. Work hard. Have fun. Build respectful relationships. Being a constructivist, I want my students to take part in building the words and images that will adorn the walls of our room throughout the year. This is why I always begin the year with blank walls. No bulletin boards, no posters, nothing (except the American flag). I tell my students that I plan to work hard, have fun, and build respectful relationships with children and adults this year, and I challenge them to do the same. I point out the blank walls, and I challenge students to join me in covering them with words and images that demonstrate the learning we will experience together this year. I then post our first classroom display, "Work hard. Have fun. Build respectful relationships." View poster.
   
2. Scavenger Hunt. There are many things to see and do in a new classroom, and I want students to understand quickly how to navigate the resources in our room. So the first day of school I have students complete a scavenger hunt. I label a dozen or so important landmarks in the room with Post-It notes (numbered 1-12). I pass out and discuss the directions of the Scavenger Hunt sheet, and after ten minutes or so we discuss the answers together. View Scavenger Hunt page.
   
   
   
3. It Takes a Village to Raise a Child. I want students to understand that I am one of many people who are there to help them in their journey toward adulthood. During the first week of school, I read It Takes a Village to Raise a Child by Jane Cowen-Fletcher and ask students to write a paragraph about the important people in their "village." This book is available at many public libraries and through Amazon.com.
4. Classroom Jobs. I want students to take ownership of the classroom. I want them to know that their contributions are not only helpful, but also necessary in order for our room to be a place that they can call their own. So at the start of each month each student is given a self-selected classroom job. I draw names randomly using participation cards; the last three names drawn get first choice when we change jobs again next month. I explain to my students that the 25 or so jobs they are taking on not only build responsibility within them, but they also allow me to take on 25 additional jobs in their place that can add new fun learning opportunities in the classroom. View Student Jobs page.
   
5. I am Your Teacher. Not long ago, my wife and I went out to dinner at a local restaurant. As the hostess approached to take us to our seat, she said, "Mr. Farmer, remember me? It's Jennifer. How are you?" I looked into this young woman's eyes for a moment. Then it all started coming back. Fourth grader... Just moved from Staten Island to Ohio... Gave me a wallet for Christmas... Heart of gold... We talked for a few moments. then she led us to our seats. Later that evening I stayed up late to write this poem. I share it with my students the first and last week of each school year because I want students to know that together we are making history--our history. I want them to know that as we build a relationship together this year it will be a lasting one in our memories. View poem.

Organization Starts the First Hour of the First Day
Students come in the door with a book bag full of supplies and forms, and I want them to feel organized as soon as possible. Below is my shortlist for the first hour of the first day.

1. Fill out participation cards in a floor group. Use them to allow students to randomly choose a seat in the room according to my rules. Two boys/two girls per table group. The last three names drawn get first choice when we change seats again next month.  These cards will also be used throughout the year to track classroom jobs and puppet show performers. 
   
2. Collect important forms for the office.
3. Collect shared supplies that students won't need every day (tissues, looseleaf paper, extra pencils, glue, rulers, etc.).
4. Label all personal items (calculator, notebook, multi-pocket organizer, plan book) with first and last name in permanent marker  before placing them in the desk.
   
5. Label the sections of the only two organizing tools for paperwork: the five-part spiral bound notebook and the six section multi-pocket organizer for worksheets and other loose papers. (Labels = Writing, Social Studies, Math, Reading, Science, Other.)

Share YOUR Ideas and Reflections
There are so many little decisions that a teacher makes in the first weeks of the school year that create a culture of learning and respect for students. Important routines are put in place for beginning the day, lining up, caring for the room, turning in work, etc. It's important that we take the time to share these good ideas with one another.  Click on the Comments link below to share your ideas and reflections.

Summer is for Blueberries

Looking to lower your carbon footprint while adding a fun new tradition to your list? Try blueberries.



One of the highlights of summertime for my family is our annual blueberry-picking trip to Rouster's in Milford, Ohio. Beginning around the last Saturday in June (sometimes early July) Rouster's opens it's fields to the public. Hundreds of visitors pour in, canvassing acres of blueberry bushes for one of the freshest tastes of the growing season.
Although picking takes place on select Saturdays from 8-12, we arrive at 10:30, avoiding the early rush. We each get our own bucket, and head for the fields. Every ripe blueberry in the field tastes like heaven, but we still make a game out of picking and sampling berries until we find a patch that we all agree is the the "perfect" combination of tart and sweet.
But it's more than just the pursuit of fresh blueberries. It's about time. Time set aside for family tradition. Time for conversation that doesn't always happen during a usual busy day. Time for casual conversation with other families nearby. Time for young and old to continue the dance that has gone on for generations.
In an hour or two we have all that we can carry. We head for the Berry Barn, pay for our thirty or so pounds of blueberries, and head for home. Once home, we separate out enough blueberries to eat fresh for the week to come, flash-freeze the rest for baking throughout the year, and add another year of tradition to the highlights of this enjoyable summer season.

Rouster's
1980 State Route 131
Milford, OH 45150-2647
(513) 625-5504