One of Woodland’s core operating principles states that we believe “education is a collaborative effort” and in order to ensure that our students are prepared to be contributing and productive members of society our teachers believe that they must put into practice a type of collaboration that not only serves the Woodland students but also the teachers and students across the mid-south.

Recently, a group of nine Woodland faculty and staff members put this belief into action by not only attending but presenting at the Tennessee Association of Independent School Biennial Conference in Nashville. This group of Woodland administrators and teachers led numerous professional development sessions and attended numerous professional development sessions led by other independent school leaders.

A sample of sessions created and led by Woodland faculty and staff included:

Using Effective Classroom Management Techniques while building Community in a Middle School Classroom, Building Community Through Social Media, Creating a Positive Classroom Culture and Community, and Powerful Teaching, retrieval practices.   

A sample of sessions attended by Woodland faculty and staff included: The Digital Detangler, Going Over to the Dark Side: Transitioning from the Classroom to Administration, The Key Intelligences of Highly Effective Educators, What is a Strategic Growth Plan? , Building a Culture of Emotional Intelligence, Effective Communication with Parents and families, An Educators guide to Managing Stress, What is a Strategic Growth Plan?, Hands on Science, Teaching students on the Spectrum, Effective Communication with Parents and Families, Managing ADHD in the Classroom, Creating Cultures and Connections, There is No Outside the Text: Mapping Text Based Comprehension-Structured Literacy 101

 

Did you know that:

• Graceland got its name long before Elvis bought it?
• Parents of patients at St. Jude never receive a bill?
• Most deals at the Cotton Exchange were made official by just a handshake?
• Beale Street was named after a forgotten military hero?
• Schwab’s is the last remaining original store on Beale Street?
• Both Elvis and B.B. King recorded music at Sun Studio?
• Tom Lee rescued over 30 people from the Mississippi River, and he couldn’t even swim?
• The National Civil Rights Museum is located at the former Lorraine Motel, where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated?
• The fountain in the lobby of the Peabody is home to live ducks during the day?

An exciting tradition for our Woodland fourth graders is the annual “Tour of Memphis” field trip. In past years, a professional tour guide introduced us to important local landmarks as we explored our city in a chartered bus.

This year, we “put our students in the driver’s seat.” Our school’s Educational Philosophy says, “Woodland chooses experiences intended to foster the individual growth of the intellectual, spiritual, creative, physical, social, and emotional roots.” With this in mind, we promoted our fourth graders to the role of tour guides for the day.

Our fourth graders teamed up in cooperative groups. Each group was given a Memphis landmark to research and become experts on. Then, with the help of greenscreen technology, our students were transported live to their landmarks where each group gave an informative presentation about the destination. These destination videos were played on the bus as we arrived at each landmark. Personalities blossomed on the screen as each student group used their unique talents to add to their presentation—humor, jokes, the use of props, songs.

How fun and educationally enriching to see our students rise to meet high expectations as a result of being engaged and passionate about their learning. This shift to participatory learning enhances the educational outcome many times over. The students honed their interpersonal, social, and small group skills; grew in individual and group accountability and cooperation; and experienced a climate of appreciation and mutual respect, reveling, along with us, in their own creativity and ability. 

 

The benefit of teaching a middle school student Latin can be enormous! Learning Latin is one of the most efficient ways to learn abstract English grammar concepts and skills. It makes those abstract concepts visual and concrete. The nature of the language also encourages the development of precision, organizational skills, study skills, logic, reasoning, and grit. What better time to dive into this ancient language than in Middle School, when the young teenage brain is perfectly ready to and in need of developing those skills!

What about our modern ties to the ancient world? Why are my shoes called Nikes? Why does our government have a Senate? How did J.K. Rowling come up with all of those spells? How do I know what Super Bowl we are on? The questions we could answer in our Latin class could be endless!

Each Latin unit at Woodland consists of Latin vocabulary words and the English words that are derived from them, grammar concepts and how they are used in both Latin and English, and a history or culture lesson. In order to make the grammar concepts visual and concrete, we use a variety of methods to practice the skills. There are times of small group collaboration, as well as individual memory practice on wipe off charts and boards. Translations are sometimes done in one large group, with no hands raised and the freedom to call an answer out even if they are not completely sure that the answer is correct. Being comfortable enough to just try is a vital skill to have! Much of what is gained from this quirky, unique subject is the ability of a student to pull from the variety of study techniques that we learn and use each day, and to transfer them across all other subjects.

From the ways our sewers are built, to the architecture of our buildings, the names of our months, and the way our government is set up, Ancient Roman culture and history is completely intertwined in our modern western lives. It is good for students to know where the things that surround them in their daily lives come from. Latin is the glue that can connect all other subjects for our students. Besides the huge growth in English grammar understanding, over 60% of English words are from Latin roots, so it can be a huge boost to vocabulary and thus reading comprehension. Scientific terms, including many body parts, medical vocabulary, and scientific names for all living organisms are Latin based. Ancient Roman history is an important thread in the history of the world. We even do math with Roman Numerals! All of this encourages intentional thought, reasoning, and the ability to make connections in their learning. We are blessed to have our students not only explore all of these connections but to feel success and gain self-confidence in a brand new, unconventional subject!

It seems every article I read about math in the middle school classroom details the anxiety that accompanies it. I often hear students say, “My parents are bad at math, so I am too” or “Math is my worst subject.” I can completely relate! Math was not my favorite subject in middle school or high school! When I became a math teacher, I vowed to teach it in a different way from how I was taught. I want my students to love coming to my class, enjoy being challenged, and leave feeling confident with their growth. A few ways I differentiate teaching math is by getting the kids moving in the classroom, playing math games, and rotating through math stations.

Moving around the classroom is an easy way I get my students to relax in class. Studies have shown that, regardless of age, movement is the most effective way to maintain focus. Math games are another way I engage students in the math classroom. Math games break up the monotony in solving math problems on a worksheet, while encouraging a competitive atmosphere. It is amazing to watch an old game of Jenga, Candyland, or Jeopardy excite students to solve math problems. Math rotations are also an integral part of my math class. Math rotations are important because it allows me to break down the class into small groups of students to work with individually. I am able to focus my attention on a group that needs extra help, while challenging other students with higher-level assignments.

My class provides challenging opportunities that fosters growth and independent learning. My students learn best while having fun and being actively engaged. Students are never inspired by staring at a teacher working problems on the board or completing worksheets with no interaction. They thrive on active learning.

Woodland chooses experiences that foster individual growth of the intellectual, spiritual, creative, physical, social, and emotional roots

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If you were a student, walking the halls of a new school and you could pick any class, would you choose your own? This is a profound question and one that should engage all teachers to reflect on practices in their classrooms that would encourage students to “choose it” if they had the choice.

At a recent conference, one of the presenters stated her philosophy that without student engagement, you have nothing. But, with student engagement, rigor and classroom management will fall into place. Does this resonate with you? If so, what are some best practices that could be used to liven up your classroom and spark student engagement?

One of the practices that has been successful in drawing students in and making them excited to learn is using songs, chants, and call and responses. Using these chants and songs promotes student engagement and builds a classroom culture where students are aware of the expectations but they set the boundaries and are able to learn at their own pace.

One way we use songs is to say “Good Morning!” This starts our day off on the right foot and students are ready for the learning and hard work that is coming their way.

Watch and listen to a morning song, here.

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Songs and chants are also used to enhance learning so that students can recall new skills quickly and with excitement. Popular, catchy songs with edited lyrics to match our curriculum are used to liven up the classroom, step away from the mundane, and to engage students even more. The students become invested when they are able to have some ownership of the lyrics and/or the dance moves and they are learning at the same time.

Watch a content song, here.

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Watching students guide their own instruction and driving meaningful conversations with their peers allows for them to become even more invested in their learning.  Using call and responses is a quick strategy to bring students back together and to focus on the speaker. Another great way to use these chants is for student celebration. Now that our students have been given the expectations with these cheers, it has become a seamless part of our day. When a peer does something worthy, they are able to celebrate one another quickly and then return to the task at hand.

Watch a redirection video, here.

Watch a transition video, here.

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Using songs and chants in the classroom is such a fun way to promote student engagement and get students excited about learning. While it takes training and teaching boundaries, students are able to transition from one task to the next efficiently and have lots of fun along the way.

 

     

Getting kids to enjoy coming to school every day can be a daunting task! Even as adults, we often become bored with the monotony each day can bring. Whether it be a visit by a friend, a boss buying you lunch, or a coworker bringing you a cup of coffee, everyone enjoys a surprise thrown in from time to time. Room transformations creatively engage students into learning content while making them LOVE coming to school.

In the book, The Wild Card: 7 Steps to an Educator’s Breakthrough, author’s Wade and Hope King explain “Kids will naturally be drawn to and focus their attention on things they enjoy.” Transforming a classroom brings learning to life and gives students a reason to enjoy school. Room transformations are one of the many strategies used to engage students in the learning process at Woodland.

  

Recently, I transformed my room into a huge game of Candyland. Fifth and sixth grade students reviewed math content for an upcoming test by competing against their peers in the life-size board game. Small groups worked at their own pace answering leveled math questions. When questions were answered correctly, a card was drawn from the Snow Queen (me), and the group moved their game pawn on the game board. It was amazing to see the level of excitement in the classroom while the students practiced math!

Kim Bearden, cofounder of the famed Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, recently said “The more you see creativity, the more it starts to blossom inside of you.” At Woodland, one of our educational philosophies is to provide experiences that allow for growth intellectually and creatively. Room transformations are one of the innovative techniques many Woodland teachers use to bring lessons to life and encourage growth both intellectually and creatively.

Other recent room transformations at Woodland:

• Contraction Surgery
• Pumpkin Exploration
• Spy Day
• Courtroom Debate

   

In his book, Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv addressed the growing problem in our culture that children are spending less and less time outside in nature. This book sparked a national review of what was becoming a case of “nature deficit disorder” (Louv, 2008) and called for educational programs and parents to address the problem.

Early childhood teachers know that play, particularly outdoor play, is an important and effective method of teaching very young children and helping to develop a child’s natural curiosity and creativity. Natural settings are essential for a child’s healthy development because they stimulate all of the senses and integrate informal play with formal learning (Louv, 2008). Research shows that all children benefit from being outside and that their imaginations, inventiveness, and creativity blossom in natural settings.

With these thoughts in mind, our Outdoor Learning Center and Garden Renovation Committee has set out to develop a plan that would support Woodland’s Educational Philosophy by providing a less formal and more natural play/exploration space that supports our students’ sense of curiosity, inventiveness, intellectual development, and creativity while integrating spontaneous play with informal learning. Community projects like the outdoor learning space at Woodland provide numerous opportunities for extended members of the school community to be engaged in the program. In developing our plan, input was sought from students and school faculty and has become a collaborative project among teachers, students, their families, and the entire community. 

If you would like to get involved or hear more about Woodland’s Outdoor Learning Center and Garden Renovation project, you can contact STEM teacher, Mr. David Ogdon at dogdon@woodlandschool.org .

Update on Outdoor Garden Renovation Project

We are drawing near the end of Phase 1 of the renovation which was to:

• clean up the space
• move the compost pile to another place in the garden
• create more space that is open to sunlight by removing a tree 

Students in the Middle School Garden Club engaged in the cleanup and exercised their creativity by designing a fairy garden. This also included investigating which plants would grow in the fall and planting snow peas in a space they created. A tipi frame trellis was researched and built for the peas to climb. In addition, students researched and designed a water wall and a sound wall for use by early childhood students. One of the student’s grandfather built the frame for the sound wall.  A group of fifth grade students volunteered to help with the cleanup by working after school. During this process, they learned about composting and how to differentiate between desirable garden plants and weeds.

  

Teaching middle schoolers is no easy task! In an article from Edutopia, titled “Brains, Brains, Brains! How the Mind of a Middle Schooler Works,” one can learn that middle schoolers are in a constant state of change both mentally and physically.  This means that the middle school teacher also has to be in a constant state of change to keep up with the needs of his or her students. All teachers should individualize and differentiate their teaching and learning strategies to best fit the learner.  Many of these strategies can be seen being used in the middle school science classes.

One strategy used is hands-on experiments or demonstrations.  Sure, the students could learn the material by reading from a textbook or examining a diagram, but allowing them the opportunity to work with, measure, and manipulate variables offers a one of a kind learning experience.  I have seen exponential growth when interactive learning takes place.

These first-hand learning experiences also lead to another learning strategy-collaborative learning.  In today’s society it is so important for students to not only learn how to work together, but they have to learn to learn from one another as well.  During the hands-on labs, students are encouraged to discuss hypotheses and to draw from their different educational experiences.  It is truly remarkable see this age group argue-respectfully and defend their thoughts, predictions, and conclusions. It’s even greater to hear another say, “Oh wow! I never thought of that!” 

While the typical middle schooler is changing every day, they are still rising to the high expectations set by each of his or her teachers. This is especially evident in the science classroom.  When given the chance to complete hands-on activities and to collaborate with peers, middle schoolers constantly show us why they are some of the best schoolers!

 

Woodland believes that education should foster the individual growth of the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional roots of our students by helping them make the essential connections between history and the moral choices they face as adolescents. Our eighth graders are participating in Facing History and Ourselves, which is an international, educational organization whose mission is to “engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and anti-Semitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry.”

The Facing History and Ourselves curriculum prepares our students to be contributing and productive members of society by increasing their ability to relate history to their own lives and promotes a greater understanding of their roles and responsibilities in a democracy.  We look deeply at historical moments when individuals made decisions about their own lives and the lives of their neighbors, and then make the essential connection between history and the moral choices that we confront in our own lives.   Many years of research have shown that a study of this history helps students understand how their decisions might influence others and also strengthens their ability to take different perspectives on an issue, as well as to consider the ethical implications of their choices.

Human behavior is analyzed to heighten our understanding of racism, religious intolerance, and prejudice.  We begin to understand how “People Make Choices and Choices Make History” based on this examination.  As we celebrate the potential in every student and seek to create a safe, nurturing, and Christ-centered learning environment, we hope that our students will walk away from this class with the ability and understanding to be UPSTANDERS and not BYSTANDERS.

Jessica Orians, Middle School Teacher

In 1^st Grade at Woodland Presbyterian School, we believe in individualizing and differentiating our classrooms. We use flexible seating and it has transformed my classroom into a student-centered space that promotes movement and engagement.

Research tells us that physical activity enhances the learning process. The brain learns best when it is actively involved. It makes sense that movement and learning should go hand in hand. We know students love to move, play and engage with one another in ways that are not always conducive to sitting in chairs for long periods of time.   I find this true for adults as well! Therefore, students need to be given the option to move around and find positions that are comfortable, beneficial and supportive of their learning processes.

What might this look like?

If you were to walk into my classroom you would see students in various workspaces. Students regularly utilize groups of traditional desks and chairs, tables, stability balls, “scoop” rockers, wobble seat stools, beanbag chairs, a wooden bench, crate seats, cube seats, etc.   It is also very common to see boys and girls stretched out across the carpet with a clipboard or curled up on the floor with a book. My students are encouraged to explore and find a space that works for them allowing for maximum performance and engagement.

In my experience, I have found that non-traditional furniture in the classroom promotes student collaboration, caters to various learning styles, and increases student motivation. It also gives students an outlet for excess energy and improves their core body strength. By encouraging flexible seating, I have noticed a decrease in the requests for random bathroom breaks and water breaks. My students no longer need an excuse to get up and move for a minute.   Students change positions as needed in an effort to remain focused and on task. By promoting flexible seating choices, students are able to take an active role in their own learning process and work towards academic success. This gives greater opportunity for the teacher to serve in a facilitator role in the classroom. These student-led opportunities are beneficial for students as they foster a deeper understanding of content and promote critical and logical thinking skills.

-Mary Lirette, First Grade Teacher

Fine motor development is the strengthening and coordination of small muscles in the hands and fingers with the eyes. Early childhood students at Woodland often choose from a wide variety of fine motor activities. With the proper fine-motor strength the student will have the muscle control necessary to be successful with a marker, crayon, pencil, and scissors. These fundamental skills are necessary for future school success.

Here are a few favorite activities that our students love to choose from:

• Stringing beads
• Peeling and placing stickers
• Screwing nuts and bolts together
• Using tongs or tweezers to pick up small objects
• Manipulating play-doh, clay, and therapy putty
• Using paper hole punchers
• Connecting and taking apart popper beads
• Using unifix cubes, clothespins, turkey basters, and medicine droppers

Free choice gives our students the option to choose which activity is interesting to them thus motivating the student to strengthen their fine motor muscles. Early Childhood teachers at Woodland are dedicated to meeting the needs of all students and value the partnership between home and school. Therefore, students have good success using Fine Motor Take Home Kits that supplement the activities we do in the classroom especially for those who need the additional exercise. For more information on fun and interesting fine motor activities, you can visit the PreKinders web site at http://www.prekinders.com/fine-motor-skills/.

-Diane Lucchesi, Junior Kindergarten Teacher