Welcome Back to Room 314: Home of The Ohio State University Class of 2024!

Hello Again Everyone!

It is the start of another school year! I know last year I did not do a very good job of keeping you abreast of what was going on in Ms. Smith's class, but this year I am excited, determined, and managing my time to fit in updating our class blog! The girls and I are back from a restful summer and ready to dive into new learning.

Just a few updates:

• We are still in room 314! That made the start of this school year a whole lot easier! 
• We are now known as (drum roll, please) The Ohio State University! This is the fine institution where I acquired my Bachelor's degree and I am proud to share it, along with my experiences, with my scholars this year!
• The Sister to Sister Project: This year each girl will have a Big Sister pen pal that they will be communicating with monthly. They, and I, are very excited about this project. Be on the lookout for more details! 

As you can see, this year is already off to a great start. Buckle your seat belts because it is only going to get even more exciting! 

Stay posted! 

-With Love, 

Ms. Smith

Meet Mr. Ruffner!

This year the scholars of Bowdoin College, room 314, will have the delight of having an extra set of hands, eyes, and feet as well as an additional pleasant smile in the room! Mr. Ruffner comes to room 314 from The Urban Teacher Center, of which I am currently a second year teaching fellow. As a teaching resident in the 4th grade, My Ruffner will have the opportunity to work closely with myself and the other 4th grade team members. As a result of this collaboration, Mr. Ruffner will gain increasing responsibility for running the day to day logistics of our classroom, providing him with first hand experience to run his very own classroom as soon as next school year! He will be conducting assessments, leading small group work and discussions, transitioning scholars, and any other tasks that help our classroom run smoothly, efficiently, and productively. Simultaneously he will be diligently working to receive his dual Masters in Elementary Education K-6 and Special Education. Bowdoin Polar Bears are SO excited to have Mr. Ruffner in our midst this school year!


From Mr. Ruffner, himself:

My name is Mr. Ruffner and I am excited to work with Ms. Smith and the scholars at Excel Academy.  Reading and Social Studies have always been my favorite subjects throughout high school and college.  I love reading books that cover the American Civil War, slavery, and the Civil Rights Movement. This is my first year teaching fourth grade Reading and Social Studies.  This school year will be a challenge, an excitement, and most of all fun for me. Ms. Smith and I have come up with fun reading activities for our scholars this school year.  It is more than a blessing and honor to work with Ms. Smith and the scholars of Excel.

God Bless,          

Mr. Ruffner

Ms. Smith and Mr. Ruffner are ecstatic to welcome the class of 2023 to 4th grade! 

To learn more about Urban Teacher Center, visit http://www.urbanteachercenter.org/

Welcome to Room 314: Home of the Bowdoin College Class of 2023

Hello! And welcome to the beginning of a new school year! A new year signifies a fresh start in so many ways; scholars are going on to new grades, probably getting new teachers, schools are abuzz with all of the beginning of the year happenings. For us though, few things are as exciting as classroom set-up! It's an opportunity to take a new canvas and paint all of your heart's desires! Beyond that a new classroom is representative of a teacher's hopes for the year, hopes to learn from last year, replicate last year's successes or the success they visualize, and to teach each child SOMETHING everyday.

This year, our class will be named after Bowdoin College. It is a private, highly selective, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. Complimentary to the fact that it is my best friends alma mater (love you Ms. Perry-Johnson), it is also another opportunity for me to expose my girls to their options for higher education and I couldn't be more excited about it!

Just like at the beginning of every new year I have also made some resolutions for this new year!

1. Be even more flexible/ manage my stress.
2. Focus more on the positive.
3. Remind my scholars that I love them daily.
4. Give families more ways to be involved in the classroom.
5. Share more of my classroom with my family, friends, colleagues, and other teachers on my blog.

Parents/ Guardians, teachers, school staff, what are some of your resolutions for yourself or your scholar this new school year? Share and inspire.

Breaking News: #BringBackOurGirls

On May 8, 2014, along with the rest of the world, my 4th graders stood in solidarity. We discussed the sad news of the kidnapping of 234 Nigerian girls from their school. My girls had heard some of the news but were not clear of all the details. Upon hearing that these girls were kidnapped because others believed that they should not be educated and even to think otherwise was sinful, my girls shed tears, got angry, and grew curious and even more thankful for the opportunity to grow smarter everyday. To show our support of #BringBackOurGirls, we spent this morning researching the news and growing our background knowledge so that we can speak out against this injustice. We watched the following videos and wrote encouraging notes. We also wore red shirts and ribbons on our wrist to show that we #StandInSolidarity #Sisterhood

To My Sisters, With Love

In my classroom, I try to create a culture of love, acceptance, inclusivity, and celebration. The reason I do this is because I want my girls to feel safe and free to be themselves. This in turn develops confidence which results in them not being afraid to take risks in their learning when working whole group and in small groups. Throughout this year, I have found several ways to establish and enforce this culture. The most popular among the scholars is "To my sisters," an opportunity for them to share their admiration for one another, with one another. I give the girls a post-it note and on it they can write a shout-out to someone else either for something academic or something sisterly. They may also write shout-outs to the whole class. Sometimes I will even push them to write shout-outs to someone that they bump heads with because there has to be something that you appreciate about them. This activity works because:

1. Kids love sticky notes. Don't ask me why.
2. They love telling others about something nice someone did for them.
3. They love when others tell about something nice they did.

Around testing time, I took some of my favorite shout-outs and turned them into a poster to remind the girls that they are loved, not only by me, but by one another. Every time we do this activity it astonishes me how they all giggle and smile at how something so small as them giving a compliment made someone's day better.

The Sound of Music in 301

Sometimes in my classroom, I find that it is extremely calming, stimulating, and inspiring to allow the girls to listen to music. Additionally, it allows me to introduce them to different genres and artists.We may listen to music while doing independent work, while free-writing for inspiration, or have some light tunes in the background while we are having small group discussions. If the mood in your classroom is low, give your scholars about 5 minutes to either read or write and put on some classical music. If energy is low, throw on a song/ video and let them have a dance party. At home if your kids are cleaning their room or some other chore, play one of these stations and let them have at it. Playing some classical music while they are doing homework could also help them stay focused. Below are lists of artists, and stations that I have found the girls enjoy! Obviously my list is specific to my scholars. You may want to screen some of these artists to see if their style will work for the demographics of your group. You will also want to be sure you check the settings on some of the artists stations generated on Pandora Radio, Spotify Radio, and iHeart Radio so that you can be sure no explicit songs/ artists are played automatically. What artists, songs, or stations do your scholars enjoy? Please share!

HUGE shout-out to my educator friends who shared their musical resources with me also! 

Take a poll on what kinds of music your class likes and give them the opportunity to share something new with you too! :)

Artists:
Taylor Swift
Katy Perry
Bridget Miller
The Wiggles
Selena Gomez
Cheetah Girls
Miles Davis
R5
Ariana Grande
Sade
Lauryn Hill
Michael Jackson
Norah Jones
Colbie Caillat
One Direction
Mindless Behavior
Big Time Rush
Trevor Jackson
Miranda Cosgrove


Stations:
Classical For Kids Radio
Miles Davis Radio
Fairy Tales Radio 
The Countdown Kids
Kidz Bop Radio
Holiday Stations

The View

In addition to being a reading teacher, I am the 5th grade writing teacher. In an effort to get the girls to see writing as more than something you do on a test, or in school for writing class we often take a few days to just write about whatever our hearts desire. Recently in our write-ventures, I asked the girls to dig deep into their imagination and get creative. "Write about ANYTHING that you want," I told them. I was shocked by the lack of enthusiasm that was their response to the autonomy I gave them. Not to mention the number of whiny Ms-Smith-I-Don't-Know-What-To-Writes. Finally, it hit me as I was doing the teacher circulation thing around my room. My girls needed inspiration and I knew exactly where they could get it from! From my classroom, I have THEE most fantastic view! You can see the Nationals Stadium, the Capital, a Metro station with murals painted all over it, our playground, a highway, a construction site, and a bridge among many other things. I decided to send the girls to the window to silently reflect on the midday view and asked them the following questions:

• What do you see? What do you know about what you see?
• What don't you see? 
• What would you like to see?
• What is going on in those buildings?
• Where are those people going? 

For about 3 minutes they were able to just look out the window and it worked like a charm. It was a bonus that they really enjoyed the exercise. It's amazing what taking a second to look around you can do. Have you taken a look at the view from your window lately? Whether you have or haven't, I encourage you to do so and maybe even write about it. 

Our view during the day.

Our view at night.