A Different Classroom- by K.McCutcheon

  July 18, 2024 It's time for new posts!  It's time for a new "school" year! It's time for something new! I have always wondered and talked about having my own school. I have always wondered what it would be like to decide how everything would look if I was in charge.      Well, I did not start my own school... BUT I will be at home with my son this year. I will be his teacher. I will be in chrage of what we learn and when. I'm excited to see this year unfold. I'm excited to spend this quality time with my son. Stay tuned for our adventures...

  July 6, 2024 PIVOT!!!  Man, this word could be no truer in this moment than in any other moment of my life. I'm excited for year 35! There is so much change happening right now.            Some change comes with peace.            Some change comes with fear and lost of the great unknown.            Some change comes with excitement.            Some change comes with letting go.      I'm truly in a season in which I believe I am letting go of what I've always known and letting God take the lead. I could sit here and tell you ALL the times God has stepped in for the past 12 months, but instead... I'm going to let you watch the magic unfolfd. I'm excited for this coming year.  Let's begin with "The Road Trip!"  July 8, 2024     We traveled from Florida to Georgia. It was about a 5 hour drive. We stayed wi...

  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...

  August 23, 2023 The Art of Exploration Last Friday, my students had an opportunity to experience their own phenomena. In science, I led them with a time lapsed video of melted crayons. Their job in science is to “Notice and Wonder.” We had a class discussion and agreed on what we noticed in our video.  Notice: The crayons were melting.  Then, we continued our discussion with what wonders we had. How fast did they melt? Was it messy when they melted? What caused them to melt? What if one crayon was melted one way, and another crayon melted differently, would it change anything? It was a great discussion! Finally, we landed on one wonder.  Wonder: How did the crayons melt? At this point, the students were eager to find their answers. They created a list of supplies they would need to test and find answers to their questions. The science experiment began. It was absolutely amazing to watch them work in partners to determine how they would prepare their crayons for mel...

  August 19, 2023 The Start of a New Chapter This year will be filled with so many new beginnings. Hi! I’m Kim. Many know me as Mrs. McCutcheon. I’m a teacher, learner, and aspiring leader. In June, my family relocated to Florida. I started my career in Tennessee, spent three years in Georgia, and now, here I am in Florida. The word NEW could not ring any louder than it does right now. New state. New district. New school. New principal. New grade. New team. New EVERYTHING!!!! And yet, I could not be more excited for what’s ahead.  I’m excited to learn about a new state. I’m excited to learn about a new district. I’m excited to learn and contribute to my new school, principal, grade, and team.  As I embark on a new journey, my mind is flooded with so many questions. What are the state standards? What curriculum do we use? What are the district or school level expectations? What are the state mandates and laws? How can I be the best version on myself in this setting? Some q...

  June 1, 2023 Wow! It sure has been a long time since my last post… I wish I could update in one long post, but too much has happened to do that. Time to get back to blogging and share my thoughts.  Let’s start with the end of a chapter!  This past year has definitely been a chapter, maybe even a book. It has had all the things. The characters have been forever changed. The setting is a place called home. The story has a climax with problems and solutions. The end is bittersweet and a tale to be told over and over again.  This year has given me hope and strength in new beginnings .  My team has been absolutely amazing. My desire was to create an environment in which we trust and depend on one another. From our team building day in July to daily planning and hallway conversations, this year was amazing because of them. We laughed, cried, and loved through every professional and personal moment. I will forever remember them as my number ones. They left some big s...

  July 1, 2022      As a teacher, it’s so easy to give our students everything they want and need. It’s our job. We went into this profession with a passion to create something special for the young lives that walk into our classrooms. It wasn’t until I was a mom that I had the same feelings for my child.       I just spent the past week at a conference in Orlando known as Get Your Teach On. If you’ve never heard of it, then you should look it up. It’s a movement I’ve had the privilege of following and implementing since January 2017. While I was in the conference, my child was with my mother about an hour or so away. Why is this important? Because in this conference (or I’d love to start calling it a movement), we focus and learn on how to create moments for our students.      When it comes to life, that’s one of my biggest goals with my son. I don’t want to just live in the motions. I want to create moments with him. I want to giv...

  June 28, 2022     Professional development is an opportunity for one to grow in their craft. Many times teachers view professional development in many different ways. Some see it as an opportunity with expressions of excitement. Some see it as repetition with expressions of annoyance. The amazing thing is we all will become adults transformed back into students.     If we are officially all students, then what do we need in professional development to learn. It’s such a great and powerful question. In fact, I recently had the opportunity to consider an answer for this. Would you like to hear about it?     Here it goes… consider your lessons. How do you teach? Are you the front loader? The person who gives all the information and then allows practice. Or are you the facilitator that leads student/learner discourse? The person who gives students an activity to explore and then elaborates with information.     As a learner, the oppor...

  June 28, 2022        Classroom management is such a strong focus. So many teachers are looking for the answer on how to run or manage their classroom. It continues to amaze me how much focus there is on telling students exactly how to behave. We tell them how to line up. We tell them how to get to their seat. It’s exhausting! Now, someone is already disagreeing with me. And that’s ok! At the end of the day, these children are humans. They are just like you and me. How many of us want to be told how to walk or sit or stand? It makes sense to have structure, but there is a difference in structure and control.  This past year, I truly enjoyed giving my students freedom. It was AMAZING! Yes, we need to model and give students expectations on the best way to succeed within the classroom. But I want to give them an opportunity to be themselves. Let’s flip the switch… it’s not that I don’t want classroom management. It’s that I want students to build and have se...

  July 20, 2022     The month of May is like jumping off a ship into the dark blue to touch the bottom of the ocean. It's one of those months where everything seems to happen at once. The past two years, the month of May has been one of my greatest challenges.      Once the month of May hits, it's like I disappear, or dive deep into work. All I do is work. All I spend my money on is things at work. I feel like my whole life revolves around work. It's the one month I struggle to make ends meet with the balance of work and family time.      It's also a month full of reward. It's a month when the school year comes to an end. It's a month we get to review everything learned and accomplished within my four walls. It's a month of reflection on how far the students have come, how much I've grown, and how many things have contributed to the successes or failures of the year.      May is my new "blackout" month. It's the month I will ju...

  June 21, 2022     Three important words are challenges, lead, and failure. Now, any combination of these words can create a positive or negative outcome. Let's break it down...     It's not foreign to say we all have experienced challenges. I have encountered my share of challenges. One challenge being wanting to get my ideas in writing and published in a book. Some might even say it's a dream or goal of mine. Any dream can come with it's own set of obstacles.      When faced with challenges, we can either feel the success or the failure. Failure is hard. It makes us want to give up. Again, I think about my book idea. I haven't had the feeling of failure, but the temptation of taking a break. That will never help me accomplish my goal.      Finally, we have lead. This summer I'm in a program that has centered my focus on leading. I can't help but acknowledge my challenges in publishing my book idea and not accepting fail...

  April 23, 2022     There is nothing more refreshing... than having the opportunity to reflect on one's craft.       This year I welcomed a student teacher into my classroom. It was an exciting experience to be able to share my class with someone else. A little nerve-racking at first because i wasn't sure how it was going to work out. But it was amazing to think of all the possibilities.      Needless to say, my student teacher ROCKED it. She really took the time to observe and reflect. She also took her observations and attempted anything she experienced with me. At the end of the day, I learned from her as well.      Once there are eyes in the classroom, it brings a new light to how things are done. I quickly realized where I was lacking and what was missing as we discussed ideas about the classroom. She inspired me to be the teacher I strived to be, but even better. If you are ever asked to have a student teacher in yo...

  April 7, 2022 One of my favorite things about teaching is encouraging others to think. It's the magic behind learning something new. I love how being a teacher allows you to encourage others to have thoughts and make connections to the world around them.  In a previous post ( To Think or Be Told What to Think ), I challenge many to think about how students are thinking within the classroom.  If students are being limited in thinking within the classroom, then try these steps to create a more thought promoting environment.  Consider: How do you create thoughts within your classroom?  Start here... Do you know what students are thinking? Are you giving them choices?   Find Open-ended question stems Easy one "What do you notice? What do you wonder?" Create a list or make some popsicle sticks with question stems on them Allow students to share their thoughts Let them talk. Check future post for more on this! Avoid this or that questions Don't limit the respon...

  April 6, 2022     My goal in life is to find ways to help and serve others. The amazing thing is as a teacher I have that opportunity on a daily. Now, I'm seeking ways to share, motivate, and inspire others.  I want to encourage others to always be brave enough to try something NEW.  Based on a prior post:  Thoughts on Behavior If you have a behavior chart with a classroom rule system, then I want to encourage you to try this... Consider : Are you using a behavior chart or consequence system? And why? Consider: What are your classroom rules? And why? Start here... T o focus on classroom characters, what values are important? Select 2-3 character traits  Consider age, group, and school values/struggles Then... What image could you pair with that value? Select an image to represent the values May select more than one image depending on values Post it in your classroom Finally... How could the value be discussed and communicated with students? Imagine t...

 March 19, 2022      Do you ever feel like you have a voice? Have you ever wanted to say something, but didn't? At what point, do we finally decide to speak?      This is the reason I started this blog. I noticed there are days that I have something to say. In many cases, I will call my mom, say it, and move on. Sometimes, I'll go talk to a fellow colleague. This usually leads to discussion or reflection. More than often, my thoughts float around in my head.      I'm a writer. I always have been, even that time in 7th grade when my teacher made my paper more red than white. I'm good at getting my thoughts down on paper better than I am at talking. Talking gets me in trouble. Can any one else relate?      I often wonder, how does this flow over into our classrooms. Who do our students talk to? What thoughts are floating in their heads? How can I get those thoughts out and give them time to speak in the classroom? I want the...

 .  March 12, 2022     What is your classroom theme? Do you have a classroom theme? It's funny how we dream about what our classroom will look like. Then, we are given that blank slate. Every now and then, we have regulations to follow from administration, district, or fire codes. For the most part, the space is yours!      New question: what is your classroom personality? I love thinking about the classroom personality. It changes from year to year. It connects everything within the classroom. The classroom personality bonds the students, the teacher, the teaching, the interactions, the connections, the conversations, the thoughts, the behavior, and even the writing. It's like magic. It's what makes students want to come to school everyday.      The classroom personality is what's created when you set up your room and invite students into it. After visiting RCA, I wanted to create an atmosphere in my room. I wanted to set the scene...

March 12, 2022      This is one of my favorite topics and one I think many fail to think about. Do you ever have those moments where students come up to you to tell you everything? When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING! They want to tell you what happened at home. They want to tell you how they feel, what they want, and even random thoughts that cross their minds. This is the best one, they even want to tell you what everyone else is doing in the classroom. We typically call these the "tattle tells."      I do not believe in "tattle tells." In my classroom, I believe we are ALL teachers. I believe there are moments when everyone has an  opportunity to teach someone. This can be teaching them how to read or write numbers. It can also be teaching them how to do the RIGHT thing. Instead of running to the teacher to tell on a friend, I encourage my students to help their friend. If they see something is wrong, then they should be the friend to step up a...

March 12, 2022     I've done it right. I've done it wrong. Some people say that taking a test is wrong. Some people say taking a test is right. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the policies and procedures of it all. At the end of the day, a test is a test. It's how you use the test that determines the right versus the wrong.      Why do we give our students a test? Do we test students because it's a grade in the grade book? Wrong! Do we test our students because it's a measure of progress and monitors our teaching strategies? Right! If we are giving a test just to give the student a grade, then we are wasting our time. It's not about catching the student in confusion and showing how high or low they are performing.      I've started looking at test as a measure for me, the teacher!!! Students have so much test anxiety today. They get stressed about test, even in first grade. Y'all this should not be happening! I've started talking to my stud...

February 19, 2022       How well would you say you know your students? When you think about little Johnny, what comes to your mind? Is it the grade he made on Friday's math test or is it his favorite color? As teachers, it is easy to get caught up in how the child is performing in class or the forever long to-do list we have. How often do you stop to get to know your students?      I like to think about my student as little human beings. The only difference between me and them is my age, or experience. They can think, feel, and act just like me. This is one of the most important aspects of my classroom. Everything I do in the classroom is based on the fact that every child is a human.       In fact, I will not begin my day without social time. I have been facilitating meaningful morning meetings since I started my career. Each year it may be tweaked based on the schedule, school, or children. My students know and understand our...