Blog for Secondary English Teachers

How to help students who struggle with anxiety

Let’s be honest - everyone is talking about anxiety.  You cannot turn on the TV or listen to any talk show without hearing about how someone is suffering from anxiety.  When I sit back and think about it, I think there are a few major reasons behind this phenomenon.

1. People were never meant to be THIS connected.  Do y'all remember the days when you went home from work/school and you didn’t hear from or talk to those people you saw throughout the day again UNTIL THE NEXT DAY? GASP! I miss actually having to remember to tell my mom that really crazy thing that happened in class when I’m at the dinner table instead of texting her AS SOON AS IT HAPPENS.  We’re overwhelmed with connections. I’ve gone exactly eleven minutes without reloading my email, I’m wondering what my favorite fashion blogger is putting on her Instagram stories today, and I’m texting my BFF who lives across the country all while typing this blog post. Isn’t that a little much?
2. We have too many options and too much stimulation.  When’s the last time you watched a TV show without scrolling through Pinterest? Does it not make your skin crawl to have to sit through a movie at the theater and only.sit.there? We can Google any information at the second’s notice, we can receive any level of education on the internet, we can play games on our phones while at our children’s dance recitals...but we cannot be still.  We are a society that is uncomfortable in the silence and restless in relaxation. We preach “self-care” yet glorify “busy”. It is overwhelming.
3. People over-diagnose themselves when they feel uncomfortable. Anxiety is NOT feeling worried or uncomfortable. In fact, it’s one of those things that is often self-diagnosed. Don’t get me wrong, I FULLY BELIEVE ANXIETY IS VERY, VERY REAL. I’ve been a worrier my whole life - that’s NOT anxiety.  Anxiety is debilitating, crippling, and all-consuming. It wasn’t until I had the Epstein-Barr virus (Mono) as a 25-year-old adult that I knew what anxiety meant. It’s like the virus “woke up” something horrible in my brain (there’s actually some interesting articles out there connecting Mono with anxiety.) that I could NOT shut off.  I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t hold a regular conversation, I couldn’t see a way out. When you suffer from real, live anxiety - YOU KNOW IT. You will do anything for relief. 

With all of this being said, rest assured that the classroom is plagued with anxious children.  You seriously WOULD.NOT.BELIEVE. Some of the things that children in your own neighborhood or backyard are struggling with.  Our students are coming to school every single day thinking ALL the thoughts, asking ALL the questions: Where am I going to sleep tonight? Where will my next meal come from? Will my mother hit me today? Will my father ever be released from prison? Will my sister be picked up by the police tonight? How much __________ can I sell to pay our power bill this month? Will my ACT score get me into any college? How am I going to work 40 hours this week and do my homework? Will she post my outfit on Snapchat and make fun of me today? Will he spread that rumor about what didn’t happen last weekend? Then, there’s alwayssss time to go down the rabbit hole of what if’s and made up stories our brains start believe...IT TRULY NEVER STOPS. 

Through my own struggle with anxiety and “dark thoughts”, I’ve really focused on how I can help students who struggle with the same things.  It’s definitely not easy. There is not a quick, overnight fix. However, I’ve started a few habits within my own class that have helped to alleviate some of the anxious struggles by stopping triggers before they start. 

1. Zone in on Structure

* Make a seating chart: Hear me out on this, I know that I’m in the minority but I FIRMLY believe in making and consistently sticking with a seating chart in secondary classrooms.  Yes, I’ve read all the research and ALL of the BEAUTIFUL blog posts on the power of student choice and flexible seating.  

I just simply don’t think it works.  In a perfect world, it would.  This world/classroom is anything but perfect.  When students come in knowing where they will sit each day, it eliminates worry.  Students won’t have to think about who will/will not want to sit with them, who will take their seats, if anyone will want to be in their group for a project, etc. Seating charts really do work, and believe it or not, most students crave routine and structure.

I definitely do not advocate for leaving students in the same spot all semester or sitting them beside someone who makes them uncomfortable.  It takes a reflective teacher to make seating charts work because they should be evolving and changing often.  Pay attention to your students’ needs: Does someone need to move closer to you to remain focused? Does someone need a peer helper to keep them on task? Is there anyone who is above grade level that can be seated with like-minded peers to increase productivity? For more information on how to craft a really freakin’ amazing seating chart, check out Maneuvering the Middle’s Post - I only wish I could’ve crafted something this great. :) Her post is about middle school, but it would also work well in a high school setting. 

* Remain consistent - no matter what: We all know that classroom disruptions and distractions can be anxiety-producing.  No matter the time or place, someone is going to try to buck the system and someone is going to be really dang mean.  Those are just facts of life.  

Establish boundaries and expectations on the very first day and CONSISTENTLY follow those expectations.  On day one, I tell my students what irritates me to no end: cell phones and sass.  I tell them straight up that I am not going to do anything to purposefully make them mad or uncomfortable, so they should not do that to me or anyone else.  When someone, no matter who they are or who their momma is, breaks these expectations there ARE consequences.  It hurts so much when a sweet angel child has a little slip-up and you have to discipline them just like the “friend” who is always sassing and throwing fits.  However, when you remain consistent, it takes the guesswork out of the equation. Students do not have to worry about what will happen and how badly they’ll be embarrassed by a classmate.  I actually wrote a blog post on how to tame many of these issues in a previous blog post that you can find here. 

2. Music is your friend - use it!

Crank up that Spotify: For years and years and years I avoided music in the classroom at all costs.  It actually kind of irritated me.  I HATE when students have in their earbuds, so I just automatically connected music with irritation in my head.  All of these negative Nancy thoughts about music changed for me last year.  I had a class of 30 children that simply did.not.talk. It was so eerie. I always felt as if they were picking me apart with their eyes and silent judgment.  The saying about silence being deafening is TRUE. I COULD HEAR THE CLOCK TICKING. 

In the middle of researching where this new breed of children came from, I had an epiphany- maybe they don’t hate me and the entire world...maybe they’re just afraid to speak. They literally would not ask any questions or answer any questions in class. They were so anxious about being judged that they simply would not talk. 

Therefore, I tapped into my inner Maniacs in the Middle and created a Spotify playlist. Josie is basically a teacher-classroom DJ extraordinaire and actually wrote a whole blog post (and does some pretty stellar professional development) where she advocates for the use of music in the classroom.  

As soon as I started playing music in my silent classroom, I noticed a HUGE transformation.  While the music was playing, students would call me over and ask me questions.  If a song ever changed, they would actually stop speaking until the song came back on.  I experimented again by playing music during their group work - YA’LL, THEY ACTUALLY TALKED TO EACH OTHER. It’s like the background noise took the pressure off and made them feel more at ease. We even bonded over common favorite songs! By “filling the gaps” with soothing or fun music, my students’ whole attitude changed. It was just the right amount of distraction to erase some anxiety and help promote the confidence to speak up!

You can check out my own personal Classroom Spotify Playlist Here. Keep in mind, you need to know your own demographic and always preview songs before you use them in your classroom. I teach 16-year-olds all day from very diverse backgrounds.  Also, remember that I love Jesus and I feel like a little not-so-obvious worship song never hurt anyone. 

3. Know it’s coming and build in breaks. 

* Transitions: I know that every school district varies as far as class time goes.  Personally, I have 4, 90 minute class periods a day. It’s TOUGH to keep a squad of 16-year-olds busy and in place for an hour and a half.  My college classes weren’t even that long! 

I’ve found that many students start getting anxious, overwhelmed, or let their minds wander when they sit too long OR focus on one task for too long.  I like to plan AT LEAST 3 activities for each class period so their brains don’t become stagnant and start to race other places.  When their minds are engaged and occupied, anxiety can be interrupted - which is a good thing. I’m not looking through rose-colored glasses enough to think that staying busy will scare away all anxiety all of the time. However, I do try to think about how I can keep their anxiety under wraps by pushing them to jump into multiple activities in each class period.  

These multiple activities increase transition time which is such a great time for students to decompress.  Taking 2 minutes to take out a notebook, cut a sheet of paper, and glue it in a certain section really does do wonders for the brain!  Choosing multiple activities per class period doesn’t have to be crazy difficult or creative, it just takes a little planning to consider timing. I may start the class with a literary element matching game, then transition to a mini-lesson with a foldable on analyzing symbols, and finally, wrap up with gluing in the foldable and practicing the new concept with a fresh read in a small group setting.  

The precious minutes in between activities give the students a break, but also keeps them on their toes when it comes to engagement and learning. 

* Ask a student to do a task: There WILL be a time when a student has noticeably had “too much” and may be edging dangerously close to an anxiety attack. When you know your students, you know their triggers.  However, there will also be days where it’s just simply a bad, nervous, day.  We have to be okay with this and really try to avoid frustration with the student. I promise you that the student does not want to feel this way.  

When I notice one of my babes acting abnormally distant or displaying anxious behaviors (irritability, trembling, rapid breathing, holding head or head down, meltdowns, restlessness,  etc.), I go to one of my tried and true methods:

- Tell them to go get water, take a lap (reasonably and safely) down the hall and back, tell them to go in the hall and text mom/dad/someone who makes them feel comfortable, etc. 

- Create a fake errand and have them perform the task. “Can you take this folder to Ms. _____________ for me?” “Would you please go to the library and check out ______________ book for me?” “Can you go make 10 copies of this paper for me?”  Sometimes taking a mental break from the classroom and adding a little time for movement and breathing can make all of the difference!

- Simply ask them: What can I do to make you feel better today? Is everything alright? Would you like to talk about it? Would a snack make you feel better? 

* Buddy system: I am constantly amazed by the kindness and compassion that students show to each other on a daily basis.  Many times, a student will recognize another student’s struggle with anxiety and sense a need for help.  Play into this! If a student is feeling anxious and asks to go get water/take a break/etc., consider asking the kind student: Will you go check on __________ and make sure she’s okay? This may sound creepy, but most of the time it really works well.  I’ve also sent my anxious student and the helper student on an errand together.  This gives them an opportunity to talk and decompress without being in front of an entire classroom.  The sweetest thing is when I have students come in and privately tell me that another student “isn’t having a good day.”  This signals to me that their friend may need a little extra love and help on that day. 

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It’s important to keep in mind that these interventions are only suggestions. They’ve worked in my own personal classroom, but they may not work in yours. Your school counselors are GREAT resources for getting ideas and strategies on how to help students who struggle with anxiety.  I always appreciate a strategy that doesn’t take away from learning or reduce rigor. I’m a huge advocate for finding a way to make anxiety work in your favor. 

 Always let students know that they are not alone or an outcast in their suffering. Remember that anxiety can surface in so many ways and for so many reasons.  Check out this fantastic article which offers way more details and insight: Classroom Anxiety in Children. Also, Edutopia and WeAreTeachers.com are bosses and both have articles on student anxiety that are SUPER interesting. You can find those HERE and HERE. 

Now I’m interested: How do you help students in your own classroom who struggle with anxiety? How can I help these students to feel even safer and more comfortable at school? I had a student tell me once that, “anxiety is just the stories we tell ourselves.” Let’s work together to eliminate the overwhelming worry that our students struggle within the tales of their own lives and encourage those children to tell stories of power, confidence, and hope. 

Easy, Healthier Alfredo Meal Prep

This week, I really wasn't feeling doing a huge grocery store run so I used 90% of what I already had at home.  However, if you're looking to make a grocery trip "from scratch", here's what I used for 4 breakfasts and 5 lunches! 

Breakfast
- Rolled Oats (3 cups)
- Apple Sauce (1 cup)
- Eggs (2)
- Vanilla extract
- Milk
- Canola Oil
- Baking Powder
- 2 Golden Delicious apples
-  Brown Sugar (OPTIONAL)
- Cinnamon
- Yogurt (4) They were out of my usual Yoplait, so I tried the vanilla Chobani from locally sourced milk.  It's a Greek yogurt which made me nervous, but I LOVED it!
- Cupcake Liners

Lunch
- Vegetable enriched pasta (this is my FAVORITE- You'll get 3 servings of veggies per 3.5 oz. serving! Woo!)
- Fresh broccoli (I used 2 large heads of broccoli just for myself - but I do love broccoli with all of my heart so I'm a little biased and you may want to use less.)
- 1 lb. lean, white-meat, ground turkey breast (This is my favorite and I use to 93% lean.)
- Alfredo Sauce (I use 1/3 cup per lunch.) Here is my favorite sauce to use.
- Italian Seasoning
- Garlic Powder
- Ground Chia Seeds (Optional, but read about all the cool things these babies do HERE.)
- Olive Oil
- Salt + Pepper

Snacks
- Baby carrots
- LARA bars 


Like I said, my husband can literally do a keg stand on a jar of Alfredo, so I've learned to make it a staple in our household.  We LOVE it so I've tried to make a semi-healthier version of our favorite pasta dish!


Now, on to the important stuff!

1. I decided to make some baked apple oatmeal muffins to have with my yogurt this week.  I followed this recipe that I found here: To-Go Baked Oatmeal Cups with your Favorite Toppings.
I really don't love sweets, so I totally left out all of the brown sugar that the recipe calls for.  Instead, I peeled and diced 2 Golden Delicious apples. I decided to mix the apples into the batter and see what happened. 

These things were freakin' DELICIOUS.  If you like super sweet things, then you'll definitely want to add the sugar. You'll probably think they're bland if you're expecting an apple pie flavor.  I'm sure the sugar would spice it up quite a bit!  You could also always go by the suggestions in the recipe, as well: chocolate chips, blueberries, nuts, etc.!
Side note: These muffins baking made my house smell like God's kitchen.
Here they are fresh out of the oven!

2. While the muffins were baking, I prepped my lunch. First, I washed and chopped 2 heads of broccoli into bite-size pieces.   You'll want to chop your broccoli before you do anything else because I have a secret for cooking it!  You'll need it prepped and ready before you cook your pasta.

3. Next,  I LOVE THIS PASTA! I cannot say it enough.  It doesn't taste like veggies AT ALL BUT LOOK AT ALL OF THAT VEGGIE GOODNESS IN EACH SERVING.  I literally just follow the instructions on the box to cook my pasta al dente (8-ish min.).

4. Now, here's when my favorite trick comes in.  When your pasta finishes cooking, pour the excess water off.  I don't use a pasta "drainer".  I simply place the lid a little "off center" on the pot and get rid of the water.  Then, while the pasta is still steaming, I add all of my broccoli to the pot of pasta, give it a good stir, and place the lid back on the pot.  I literally just let it sit (lid on) while I cook my meat.  This steams the broccoli PERFECTLY.  It doesn't get too mushy (since you'll be cooking the broccoli a little more when you reheat it during the week), and yet it's still not crispy like fresh broccoli.  It's broccoli perfection.

5. While my broccoli is steaming, I grab my ground turkey breast from the fridge.  I add a little olive oil (about a tablespoon) to my cast-iron skillet.  I saute' the turkey breast with about a tablespoon of Italian seasoning and a teaspoon of garlic powder.  I add in a dash of salt and pepper just to bring out all the flavor.  I make sure to crumble the meat as it cooks. 

6.  Assembly is my favorite part because I get to see everything come together! When my broccoli has been steaming for about 10 minutes in the pasta bowl, I set up 5 containers for my 5 lunches.

I add the pasta + broccoli mixture, then I pile on the ground turkey breast!  I top it all off with a drizzle of Alfredo sauce.  A little bit goes A LONG way so I use a 1/3 cup measuring spoon to make sure I'm not drowning my pasta with sauce. I also like to sprinkle some Chia seeds on top of my sauce.  I've totally hopped on the magical chia seed bandwagon.  This is completely optional, but I've convinced myself I'm doing my body a favor by adding them.

That's it! All I had to do was pack my breakfast muffins in individual bags (I saved 12 for the week and froze 12 for next week!) and grab my carrot sticks. 

Let me know what you think about this week's menu! What are ya'll making and prepping?! I need ideas for next week...I'm thinking about a nice, warm crockpot soup since it's basically ALASKA in North Carolina this week. ha!

Meal Prep for Teachers

Over the past few years, I've really become serious about leading a healthy lifestyle.  About 2-3 years ago, I had some intense health issues - like take a year to recover, consider taking a semester off work big issues. I had to take some time to learn about what I could do to help myself along with my best-doctor-ever working to help me.  I found out that what you put into your body will truly be a direct reflection of how good you feel.  The right foods at the right times are definitely not magic wands, but being mindful about how you're fueling your body gives your immune system a fighting chance.  At this point, I've not had a soft drink in 3 years and the thought of fast food turns my stomach - and all this coming from the girl who used to double fist Wendy's double cheeseburgers and wash it down with a handful of Dunkin' Donuts cinnamon sugar munchkins.  I am ashamed.

Now, let me honest for a second...I do NOT restrict myself or eat twigs and berries every meal of every day.  I eat WAY more than most girls (the waitress still brings my dish to my hubs and hands his salad to me) and I've been known to eat a taco or six on Saturday nights, but during the week I go all gas no breaks 24/7 and need to make sure my tank is full of the good stuff so I don't end up stranded on the side of the road a.k.a super cranky, sick, hangry, run-down.

If you're leery about meal prepping, DON'T BE.  I am NO COOK. In fact, I've actually had to throw away two pots because I tried to cook rice.  Yep, we literally had to pitch the pot and fan the smoke detectors for 20 minutes.  I HATE grocery shopping, and I only had an apple slicer for a week until I nearly had to go to the emergency room pinky-less and my husband hid it from me.  

That being said, I make a grocery list for five days of breakfasts and lunches each Friday, I go to the grocery store on Saturday morning, and I meal prep on Sunday afternoons.  I NEVER spend more than an hour prepping my lunches and breakfasts for the week and I switch it up from week to week so I rarely get bored with what I'm eating.  

My goal is to share my lunches each week so that maybe I can help you to feel better, quit wasting time (and money) on making/buying lunches each week, and feel fueled and ready to kick booty all day. 

Grocery list for the week:

- Bananas

- Apples

- Olive Oil

- Chicken Breasts (2 lbs.)

- 2 large heads of broccoli 

- 2 small sweet potatoes

- Italian seasoning 

- Garlic powder

- A fav. sauce (I chose Trader Joe's Carolina Gold)

- Vanilla Yogurt

- KIND Protein Granola in Almond Butter

Menu:

Lunch: BBQ shredded chicken, charred garlic broccoli, roasted sweet potatoes

Breakfast: Yogurt Parfaits with Protein granola

1. One thing that I usually have on hand for meal prep is shredded chicken.  I only shop at Food Lion because I like their rewards program that best.  I ONLY buy the all natural organic chicken breasts and I love to stock up and freeze them when I find a "manager's special" pack. I use THIS crockpot recipe for my shredded chicken.  It's a great base recipe and you can add ANY sauce to the finished product to use it in tacos, casseroles, soups, etc. I'll make small batches (2 lbs. of chicken breasts) and freeze it. I just label my bag and pop it in the freezer.  I sit the bag in the fridge the night before I'm ready to prep! That's what I did this week to make my meal prep even easier!

2. I LOVE veggies - I promise you that after you start to understand how to cook them AND you realize how much better you feel once you ditch the fries and pick up a carrot, you won't be sorry.  This week, I picked up two heads of broccoli - MY FAV. VEGGIE.  I could literally eat broccoli instead of candy.  You cannot make it so that I do not like it! One of my favorite, fastest ways to meal prep broccoli is by doing a garlic broccoli roast.  First, I pre-heat my oven to 415 degrees.  I wash and chop my broccoli into bite-size pieces. 

Then, I use a non-stick sheet pan (or line a sheet pan with foil) and spread my broccoli out over one side (if I'm cooking another veggie with it like I will be this week).  Drizzle olive oil over broccoli and sprinkle liberally (I freakin' love garlic) with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt + pepper.

I've found that "eating the rainbow" is basically the key to the Holy Grail of health. For more info on what every color does for your health, check out this website.

3. For my final lunch veggie I like to whip up some sweet potatoes whenever I get the chance. I looooooove those sweet potato fries sprinkled with powdered sugar from the fair (also known as manna from Heaven) but sometimes I have to settle for roasted sweet potatoes which are ALMOST as amazing. 

I chop up the sweet potatoes into slightly smaller than bite-size pieces.  I find that two small sweet potatoes are the perfect amount to divide for myself for a week of lunches. 

Once my sweet potatoes are chopped, I add them to the other side of the pan with the broccoli.  I simply drizzle them with a little olive oil and add salt.  My mom likes to add cinnamon to hers, but I think that a little sea salt is my favorite.  I'm that weirdo that prefers the peeling left on all my veggies - I slightly peel my potatoes, but I still like to leave a little on to add texture.

4. Once I've prepared my pan of veggies (YUM!) it goes into the oven for 15 minutes.  I've found that this is the perfect time for my garlic charred broccoli.  You may want to check your broccoli after ten minutes if you don't like yours as charred as I like mine. 

At the end of 15 minutes, I take the broccoli off of my pan completely to cool.  I give my sweet potatoes a good stir and place the pan back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes. 

5. Once my potatoes are finished and my broccoli is cool, I sit out my five Tupperware containers and divide each veggie + chicken between the five.  Lastly, I like to drizzle my "liquid gold"/Trader Joe's Carolina Gold BBQ sauce over the shredded chicken. A little goes a long way! 

6. While my potatoes and broccoli are roasting, I make up a few yogurt parfaits for breakfast.  I buy Yoplait vanilla yogurt, KIND granola in the Almond Butter protein flavor, and whatever fruit sounds good that week. If you know me, you know that I really do not like fruit and never have.  Everyone thinks I'm crazy but it just doesn't do it for me.  However, I know that vitamin C is VITAL to the immune system being big and strong and the potassium a lot of fruit offers is super great for workout recovery.  This week, I grabbed a few bananas and apples.  I chopped them up really small (to try and fool myself) and threw them into a tiny Tupperware container with a serving of Yoplait vanilla (Make sure your yogurt has active cultures in it to support gut health!).  

I take a small container or bag of the KIND granola to work with me...if you add it before you're ready to eat it'll get too soggy and I like a good crisp! 

I'll probably toss in a few bags of carrot sticks or LARA bars for snacks before the gym, but overall it only took me 45 min. to make 4 breakfasts (I eat at Dunkin' Donuts on Friday mornings) and 5 lunches for the week! 

That's it for this week! I'm thinking about doing a veggie pasta with ground turkey and alfredo next week! (My hubs swears he could chug a keg of alfredo ha!) Do you meal prep for a busy work week? What are your favs? I'm always looking for new ideas so leave a comment and help a sister out! :)

How to Tame the Crazy: Behavior Management in High School

So, there's a lot that I really DON'T do well as an educator.  I LOVE to write and even wanted to be a writer instead of a teacher, but I STRUGGLE with teaching students how to do it.  I really don't love informational text, I've been known to visually assess rather than collect papers, and when it comes right down to it, teaching my ESL students is plain HARD.  I'm just now learning how to say "glue this in your notebook" in a different language!

HOWEVER, if there's one area where I am always fairly confident that I'll keep my job, it's classroom management.

Recently, a dear friend of mine was riding the students-won't-shut-their-mouths-or-respect-me struggle bus.  WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE.  During my first 3 years as a teacher, I honestly wasn't even sure what kind of classroom management style that I had. (And yes, there are MULTIPLE management styles)  Let's face it, it's really hard to do ALL of the paperwork, plan ALL of the lessons, grade ALL of the papers, discipline ALL of the crazy, call ALL of the mommas, chaperone ALL of the dances, games, etc., on top of being a wife/husband, sister/brother, friend, daughter/son, etc. I'm tired just typing all of that.

I'm definitely not the guru of all things "good children".  In fact, last week I confiscated a 1990 black and white Gameboy and had a child use the mother of all curse words toward me all before 8am.  HOWEVER, I have come to a point where I am confident in my classroom management style and there is REAL, authentic learning happening in my classroom every class period of every day.  Sure, I still have the "blessings" who are never going to respect anyone (including themselves) and there have been days that I wish I could pipe in Lavender through the ventilation system but I usually deal with a fraction of disrespect and apathy that others I know deal with.

I will preface this with not everyone agrees with my methods and some people I work with think I'm crazy.  However, this is what I do to save my own sanity and push my students to be the super cool people that I know they can be.

Therefore, I give to you, my Top 5 Tips for Calming the Crazy.

1. Become a Bus Throwing Champ.

Let's be honest for a second - the atmosphere in our world today is very much a "blame game". Many of our students have grown up in a time where all they know how to do is point a finger...which finger will vary.  Now, as an educator there are SO MANY THINGS that we cannot control. Let me count the ways that our public education system has me locked down: EOCs, Benchmarks, Data collecting, IEPs, 504s, PEPs, Calling alllllll the mommas, etc. (crying is still optional, but highly encouraged).  I say all of this to remind you that many things that our students are instructed to do, we would NEVER come up with ourselves.  SO TELL THEM THAT!  Be honest with them and say, "Our state/county office/ etc. is making me do this, ya'll.  I would personally never do this, but we have to do it. I don't like it either, but let's push through and get through it together." This evens the playing field and lets students know that you understand them and their frustration.  It takes you out of the dictator's position, and into a more genuine, compassionate authority figure who wants to work WITH them rather than DICTATE to them.

You also have to consider this - do you think your admin. minds throwing you under the bus in their meetings when test scores are less than stellar? Chances are, some of them (not all of them - shout out to the real admin. homies who have their teachers' backs and love us through it) have no problem pointing a finger at you when push comes to shove.  So, when the students start getting jittery, upset, etc. tell them - "Your principal says our test scores are not where they should be so we have to do these 900 math problems."  MOST students do not understand the constant pressure that educators are under on a daily basis.  I don't lie to my kids - I tell them when I get fussed at and when it hurts.  I tell them that I get in trouble when they get in trouble.  It's not a magic "fix", but it does help my students to see me as a "real" person and someone who knows some of the same issues that they face. 

2. Love the heck out of them, and let them know it hurts.

It's the age old lesson that all teachers must learn - every child, even the one who you pour your heart, soul, and wallet into WILL eventually let you down.  It's part of life and it's our utter downfall as humans - hurting those who love us most.  When you come to terms with this, you'll ultimately be a better teacher because this is the part that hurts. It's the part where we must learn what it means to love unconditionally. I've cried more tears than I care to admit over students who hurt me to the core of my being whether it be through words, actions, incarcerations, lack of effort, absence, etc. I've suffered through most of it.  I realized that a lot of the feelings of anger that I felt toward students was actually a feeling of hurt or disappointment.  It's so funny how hurt can manifest in the form of rage.  Now, as hard as it may be, and as much as it pains me, I tell my students who disrespect me, "I cannot believe you would treat me like that.  Your behavior truly hurts my feelings."  Typically (not always), this makes them see the situation differently.  They no longer have to be defensive, but rather thoughtful.  I'm usually met with silence when I take this approach which is much better than yelling or cursing.  I've also tried, "I've done nothing to disrespect you like that, so I do not know why you would disrespect me."  When students KNOW that you love them and enjoy having them in class (fake it til' you make it, sister), they will not want to disappoint you.  Hurting you will bother them far worse than feeling as if they've angered you.  Most of them are accustomed to an angry household, they'll tune it out and immediately be triggered if you play that same role.

If you simply cannot muster the strength to feign hurt when you are breathing the fire of rage, invest in a naughty notebook. This is probably my favorite classroom management technique.  Have a notebook that looks official sitting on your desk.  When a student disrespects you and you cannot find anything not anger-filled to say to them, silently walk over, take out the notebook, and start writing. Write down their name, what they did, what they said, and the date and time. Heck, even write in there what you would like to say to them. It helps if you pause every now and then, look up at the student silently, and continue writing.  When you're finished, simply place the notebook back on your desk and continue teaching without giving them any attention.  Trust me, this confuses (and often scares) the heck out of them.  I've had students say, "Can I ask what you're writing?". My favorite response is, "Worry about yourself."

3. Do not accept apathy - from them or yourself.

Being in control is DIFFICULT. It is truly HARD WORK. It does not come from sitting at your desk and giving students a list of tasks to check off before they leave each day.  In many cases, it takes being honest with yourself to get down to the REAL problem.  About 4-5 years ago, I was going through a big, awful, crappy time in my personal life.  I was so exhausted by the time I got to work that I literally just wanted to sit down, drink a coffee, and scroll through Pinterest.  I was a CRAPPY teacher during this time and my students were BAD. I'm talking kicking trash cans, slamming doors, calling me names that I didn't even know what they meant BAD.  It wasn't that I wasn't lesson planning...I was.  I was giving my students things to do, but I was rarely actively engaged.  I would get angry when they took their phones out.  I would yell when they wouldn't shut up.  I would take privileges away and they did.not.care. This was, BY FAR, the worst year of my teaching career.  I didn't understand it and I would constantly complain about these "horrible kids". Even though this year was cry-to-my-momma awful, I learned more than ever.

Yes, children SHOULD be respectful and do their work no matter what.   However, the bleak, dark, reality is that they simply are not going to.  We must be teachers who leave the home issues at home if we really want to see success in the classroom.  It wasn't my students' fault that I was struggling, yet I accidentally took it out on them.  You cannot expect your kids to be active learners if you aren't an active teacher.  Is it a pain to make new lessons that the kids don't appreciate? Yes.  Is it frustrating to have to walk around every minute of every class period and feel the sweat dripping down your back because you're working so hard? Sure is.  YET....When I got up, got to work, and showed my students my own engagement, my classroom completely transformed.

I was determined to not repeat the past (no matter what my bae, F. Scott Fitzgerald says) when I returned the next fall.  I made sure I had at least 3 different activities planned each day (For example: Vocabulary Game on Quizlet.Live, Reading together, group analysis at stations), I wore my FitBit and set a number of steps to reach each class period, and I invested in a TON of sticky notes to write encouraging notes or "I'm so proud of you" notes to random students that I saw doing their best or going the extra mile.  Things definitely didn't magically change in one week, one month, even one semester.  They DID, however get better at a consistent pace and STAYED better.  When I slacked, the kids slacked.  When I got hype, so did they.  Educating the future is definitely give and take, but if we won't accept apathy from our students, we cannot accept in from ourselves either.

4. Be Real.

This seems simple enough, but it actually took me a while to understand it.  You MUST develop your own style based on who you are and use it.  If you aren't naturally spunky and lovey-dovey your students will smell that BS from two hallways away. Be who you REALLY are.  If you cannot STAND cell phone use - tell them.  If you don't mind cell phones but the thought of sleeping in class makes your skin crawl - LET THEM KNOW.  When you tell them your pet peeves up front, they won't accidentally set you off and sever a relationship for the rest of the semester.  Secondly, if you're not a super, overbearing authority figure, don't try to be.  Love them through it.  If you aren't a big fan of the hugs and camaraderie, push competition in your classroom and praise the ones who "win" while pushing the others to fight for their right on the winner's podium.  This definitely doesn't come easy - and YEARS into my career, I'm still figuring out my own style.  Some days I want to  squeeze my kids and adopt them, other days I want to squeeze them until they feel the pain they've been metaphorically inflicting on me. HA! I say all of this to truly mean that you must be genuine in whatever you choose to do. It simply will not work if it isn't truly you.  Keep working until you find out a behavior system that is your own and quit trying to find something cute on Pinterest, or something out of a professional development workbook to control your class.  

5. Know Who is in Control and Stay Consistent   

Nothing will work if you aren't consistent. No matter who they are, how nice they've been, or who their mom is, you still have to hold them to the same level of accountability as that kid who kicks your car and carves your desks.  Students NOTICE when you play favorites and there's nothing that causes animosity more than this.  They respect rules and consistency. In fact, they crave it.  Also keep in mind that just because you may not agree with some rules set by your admin, OR some rules are HARD to implement - you still HAVE TO ENFORCE THEM. It is NOT an option.  When you don't enforce rules, it very plainly makes students disrespect you and other teachers who are enforcing them mad at you. (Refer to tip #1 if you need help enforcing a difficult rule set forth by admin.) Please keep in mind that you are the adult here and it is YOUR classroom. The power is in YOUR hands - even when you think it's not.  You may have to make an example out of someone, but once you do this ONE TIME (Preferably as close to the beginning of the semester as possible), I guarantee you that issue will decline.  

Again, I'm definitely no master teacher and I've been cursed more times than I like to admit.  However, just know that there IS light at the end of the tunnel.  As bad and as crazy as your students may seem, there is something that will alleviate the crazy.  It may not dry it up and eliminate it, but it will help it.   Some groups are tougher than others, and you will always have that handful that live to push your buttons.  Keep in mind that for every wildchild, there's kid in that room that needs you and truly wants to learn.  It's not fair for that child to be held back because another classmate is being crazy.  Overall, know your kids, know yourself, and know that you are not alone.  

Fight the good fight, ya'll. 

High School English Exam Review

I cannot believe that it's already time for 1st semester exams! It has been such a crazy/fast semester that I haven't had a single second to blog.  I decided to go back to graduate school, get engaged, and teach all EOC courses in the same year. Whew! But you know what they say, idle hands are the devil's workshop. :) ha!  

Anyway, I've been seeing all of these fantastic, yet slightly scary "escape rooms" popping up all over Instagram.  Don't get me wrong, I love a challenge, but the thought of being locked in ANYWHERE (unless it's The Great American Cookie Co. or Nordstrom) sends me into a tizzy.  However, I thought - who are the bravest/craziest people I know? My students.

I tried to create a mini escape room to use for a EOC review that wasn't too scary or too difficult, but still intrigued them and pushed them to work as a team.  I was happily surprised to discover that I could make an escape room plan for very little money!  

Here are my supplies + links to purchase.
1. Walkie Talkies (not necessary, but definitely added to the fun.)
2. Invisible Ink Pen
3. Mini black light flashlights
4. Mini safe (Although, you could also use your own box + locks from The Dollar Store - I checked and they have 3 different kinds of locks available at my local store!)
5. Candy
6. Envelopes
7. Taboo Game (Here's a link to the one I created in two different places): or part of my entire EOC Bundle found HERE
8. 3 Bottles of Coke (or your beverage of choice):
9. EOC practice books: My school has 25 copies of this book. It's a pretty accurate reflection of the REAL EOC. 
10. Printed supplies (crack the code sheet, poem + question), and my bestie also let me borrow some mini whiteboards to use!

When students entered the room, their desks looked like this:

Then, they read this message on the board.

*Side note, my sweet bestie (who just happens to teach next door to me), was SUCH a good sport.  She kept a walkie talkie with her all day and pretended to be the Power School Bandit! She would randomly radio my students and encourage them to use specific testing strategies.  She also did an evil laugh every 5 minutes with some "motivation" in the form of "I'M IN THE GRADE BOOK NOW".  It was great and the students LOVED IT.  Here's a sneaky screenshot of what popped up on my screen at one point: 

I gave a brief overview and tried to really play into it.  I told them that I couldn't even take attendance because my PowerSchool password had been changed.  They are great sports, so they were excited to play along.  I then showed them the first challenge:

They went to work right away! Here they are...working hard! :)

Cracking the code led them to a "vault" that was filled with a treasure for the first group to finish + the next clue.  This exercise took them about 15-20 min. to complete. It was harder than they thought it would be!  Here's the vault once they figured out the secret code + opened it!

The clue revealed the following message: 

Exercise #2 brought students to this challenge:

This is where things got interesting! It should have been easy to only write one sentence per group, but things got a little crazy.  First, they couldn't agree on the answer.  Then, they couldn't agree on which group should write what sentence!  I just sat back and watched the leaders emerge.  In the end, all three of my classes wrote the response with only seconds to spare! Here they are avoiding CR "bombs"! haha!

Once they finished this exercised they all received candy and viewed the next clue.

This clue showed them a flashlight, which revealed the invisible ink from clue 1!  This note told them to check under the desks for a hidden envelope!

WHY DO CHILDREN ALWAYS STICK GUM UNDER DESKS! EW!

Once they opened the envelope, they had to solve a riddle!

They found their final clue here!

They played literary "Taboo" by having their desk mates guess literary elements without saying "taboo" words.  Here's an example!

When they finished, they had to use the walkie talkie to radio the "Power School Bandit" and get the password to change their grades back to normal!  

In the end, they all completed the tasks before the bell rang and received this message: 

It was SO much fun and I didn't have anyone rain on my escape room parade!  Hopefully the fun review distracted them a bit from the big scary EOC monster that's looming in the distance. Fingers crossed!

Exam Review that Isn't Torture

Let's be honest - for a teacher, the month of May is a NIGHTMARE.  The kids check out as soon as they return from spring break.  Because spring break came so early this year, my children have STRUGGLED to stay interested in the literature that we're using.  I just so happen to teach 6 sections of the big scary EOC class every year and I KNEW that this semester was going to be touch-and-go when it came to exam review.  Even though I knew my children needed a lot of extra review, I also knew that it would be best if they were left with a good feeling about me as their teacher and the class in general.  

I SWEATED over what I could possibly do to make review less painful for them.  I tried to think of ways to spice up the content or maybe change the reading passages...then it hit me.  Ya'll, if there's one thing I LOVE it's a party.  I enjoy every part of planning the details and crafting the perfect theme.  I'm that person that will look for a reason to throw a good party no matter the time of year.  So, why not make review into a celebration?

For very little time, effort, and $$$ I was able to have the most successful review days in the history of my time teaching English 2.  Kids from other classes were begging me to join the review and my students NEVER COMPLAINED or WHINED. IT WAS AN EARLY CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!  

I had two days designated completely for review so this is how I planned:

Tuesday: Pirate Day: "Arrrr You Ready to Review?"
Supplies:
- 6 buckets (Dollar Tree)
- baseballs (check with your PE teachers)
- one piece of wood (for walking the plank, luckily my fabulous inclusion teacher had this at his home!)
- Red solo cups
- Hooks (Lowe's)
- glow stick bracelets (5 for $1 at Dollar Tree)
Total spent: $10

Activities:
As soon as my students entered the room they were surprised to find a pirate paradise! We had a plank to walk: 

And a Hook Hand Toss!

And my inclusion teacher and I even dressed the part! 

They knew it would be a fun day when they read this on the board:

The real fun started when the review began.  I set a timer for exactly one minute and gave the students a small worksheet where they had to match literary elements to their correct defintions.  The group that answered the most correctly in one minute receieved an extra turn at "Cannon Ball Blast"!  

For the cannon ball blast, we set up 6 buckets and used a sharpie to write different point values on them.  Each group received 5 baseballs or "cannons".  They could each fire a cannon and try to make it into a bucket.  The team that won the literary matching contest was able to "fire" ten "cannons".  I kept up with the point values on a separate sheet of paper at my desk.

Next, I used my practice EOC book to copy an article + multiple choice questions.  Again, I set a timer (they need to feel the pressure of time/quick reading).  This time, the students had ten minutes to read an article and answer 8 multiple choice questions.  I let them know that I knew this wouldn't be enough time, but if they practiced good testing skills like reading the questions first, answering questions that don't require them to read the whole article, etc. then they could do a pretty good job with a short amount of time!  The group that got the most answers correct could walk the plank for extra points!

My students LOVED this!

Finally, one of the most difficult sections on the EOC asks students to understand which claims are subjective and which are objective.  I gave them a list of pirate details and had them sort the papers into a subjective stack and an objective stack.  The first group that finished received an extra round of Pirate Hook Hand Toss! Each Hook was worth 10 points for their group. We used glow stick bracelets as the hoops to toss!

At the end of the day, we added up all of the points.  The group with the most points received the treasure!

Tomorrow I'll be posting our second review day theme: Beach Day! Do you do any fun activities to help your secondary students prepare for their finals?