A Different Classroom- by K.McCutcheon

  September 24, 2023 Writing…  It is crazy to me how many people think writing is a subject. Yes, I said it. People think writing is a subject. When students work in reading, do they write? When students work in math, do they write? When students work in science and social studies, do they write? When students pass a note in class, do their homework, and so on, do they write? The answer is obvious, YES!  Writing is more than a subject. It is a foundation to everything we do. In life, we have a process. We learn to think. Then, we learn to talk and say what we are thinking. Finally, we learn how to read what others are thinking and saying… or we learn how to write what we are thinking and saying. It’s natural. It’s human nature. Why then are there teachers who confine writing to a subject?  Yes, we need to teach writing. Yes, we need to practice writing. BUT, writing is way more than a subject. It is the one thing we need to record our thoughts and share them with oth...

September 10, 2023  What does your classroom sound like?  For some, this seems like an odd question. For me, this is one of my favorite things to talk about. As humans, we have a natural desire to talk and share ideas. It’s what we do. Children are humans and no different. It’s not natural to have a quiet classroom. There should be noise and sound. The sound should be productive sounds of learning and discovery, but silent should be more rare than the norm.  In my classroom, I accomplish this in a couple of ways… One way is my “no raise hands” rule. My students are not suppose to raise their hand to answer questions or for permission to talk. Instead of raising hands, I encourage students to talk to their peers, answer the question as a whole, or shout out answers when prompted. This sounds messy, but it’s actually more effective than raising hands. It requires 100% participation and engagement. Students are no longer sitting there focused on remembering what they have t...