Is this your JOY or your JOB?

One thing I've noticed about blogging is that I have a lot of ideas that I want to share, but getting something written can be a challenge. I've been wanting to write about this one for quite some time, but somehow another post always seemed more necessary. So, today's the day. 

This fall, I attended the Iowa Technology and Education Conference (ITEC). There were so many wonderful sessions. But the one that really grabbed my heart was the keynote delivered by Buddy Berry: How to Set your School on F.I.R.E. (@BuddyBerry and @EminenceSchools) 

I listened in fascination as this Superintendent discussed the core beliefs of his district which included the elements of Surprise and Delight, Yes .... And! thinking and Blue Lobster Ideas. I could write several blogs just on his keynote (and I probably will later), but the idea that really took hold for me was the idea of Surprise and Delight. Teachers in Mr. Berry's district intentionally plan moments of surprise and delight into daily lessons. Why? "You motivate people through fun: Engage, enrich, surprise and delight."

My first attempt at Surprise and Delight was when I taught a whole group lesson in 2nd grade about a note-taking strategy called Trash and Treasure. For those who haven't heard of that, it's the strategy of only writing down the key detail needed to answer the question and not the whole sentence. This helps them to put things in their own words when they create a project from their notes. You'll notice my picture to the left and can probably guess what my surprise was. At the end of the first session of note-taking, I asked the class how many of them found at least one piece of treasure to write down? For every hand that went up, that student got to pick a piece of treasure out of my cauldron. I even saw some kids immediately look for something to write down. It was fairly simple, but I was amazed just how excited most of the kids were to pull that gem out of the cauldron. Because the gems have an adhesive on the back, many students stuck them down to their desks. I'm hoping that every time they see that gem sparkle, they are reminded of that special feeling.  And you know what? It wasn't just the kids that were excited. I couldn't wait to see how they would react. Their excitement was my joy.

Then I started thinking about how I should let my staff in on the fun. So, with the help of my wonderful instructional coach, Megan, I "surprised" my staff during a meeting. Believe me, I'm the last person to speak up at a faculty meeting, so I'm fairly certain they were surprised. (Here's part of the video: What makes you happy?  If you want to know what I had on my signs, click here.) After asking them to post the things on the white board that gave them joy and made them happy, my final message was: What are you going to do tomorrow to surprise your students?  Is this your JOY or your JOB? 

Megan and I were inspired to do more after the fun I had at the last staff meeting (I know, right? Fun at a staff meeting?) So before the next meeting, Megan and I organized a Flash Mob to Jingle Bell Rock (I promised I wouldn't post the video for this one.) Everyone who was interested was in on the planning and participation, except our principal. We had so much fun as a group brainstorming this that I'm fairly certain it will happen again some time. We had found our JOY!

So why was it the right time to post this? Because when I walked into school on Friday morning, I saw that two of my colleagues had planned a surprise event for their students of juice and donuts (see photos below). And it reminded me that we always need to be on the look out for ways to celebrate with our students. To bring the element of joy into the classroom. Surprise and delight takes practice, but the important thing is that we've started the journey. Thank you, Buddy Berry!

Student Centered Library at it's best: 6th Grade Graphic Novel Project

Two earlier posts this school year outlined the Graphic Novel Project that I was going to do with some 6th graders who wanted to see more Graphic Novels in the library. At the time of the last post, we had compiled our list of books and determined how much money we would need to complete the project.   

The only thing that was left was getting on the PTA agenda. The next meeting was scheduled for February 6th. Due to conflicting schedules, most of the students weren't going to be able to attend the meeting. They were disappointed, to say the least. So they decided to put together a video to be shown at the meeting. With only a couple of days to get the video completed, the team came together quickly, writing and recording the script and choosing the images. The link to the video presentation is here. 

I am happy to report that the PTA has agreed to fund their project and that the order has been placed. The students were very excited to hear the news and I am so grateful to the PTA for helping these kids make a contribution to our library collection. I'll be creating bookplates that says "This book has been added to the collection thanks to the 6th Grade Graphic Novel Committee and the Bridgeview PTA." I will also the list of names of the committee members. In this way, I'm hoping that we might get another group interested in pursuing a similar project next year.

The next step for them? Reading the books and creating book talks to promote their purchases to the school population. Stay tuned!