Easy Mindfulness Exercises!

Many of us, students and adults alike, rush through our days, getting things done while thinking about what is coming up next. While it's important to be productive, this can come at the expense of missing out on fully experiencing the present moment, and being fully present in our selves in those moments. 

Mindfulness practices are designed to help us do just that- set aside the myriad thoughts running through our heads, tune out distractions, and notice what's happening now. Below are a few mindfulness practices you can try right in the classroom or at any other time during your busy day.

Exercise 1: Close your eyes. Put your hands on your belly and/or on your chest over your heart. Notice the depth of your breath. Take a few deeper breaths, filling your throat, then lungs, then belly as you inhale. Exhale and notice the different sensations in your throat, chest, and belly. Repeat a few times before opening your eyes.

Exercise 2: Find a comfortable seat with your feet planted on the floor. Close your eyes. Notice your feet- the temperature, fabric touching your skin, the way the bottom of your feet feel, the way the top of your feet feel. Shift your focus to your ankles. Notice the sensations your ankles are experiencing. Move up your body this way, noticing the sensations in each part of your body. Once you've reached the top of your head, notice your whole body. Then notice your breath. Take a few more deep breaths before opening your eyes.

Exercise 3: Take off your shoes. Relax your eyelids so that you are looking at the floor. Begin to walk slowly, noticing the sensation of your heels, your arches, and your toes as they contact the floor. Notice what changes when you move slightly slightly slower. Take deep inhales and exhales, and slow your walking down so that one step takes as long as one inhale. Notice the shift in sensations in your feet and lower extremities. Continue for as long as you'd like, or as long as you're able.

Give one of these exercises a try today, and see how it affects you!

Communicating with your teachers and other adults in school

One thing I've been noticing is that many students have trouble communicating with their teachers in writing, in an appropriate and formal-enough way.

The way you communicate with your teachers can make a big difference in how (and if) they respond to a question, suggestion, or request.

For example, if one of my students emailed me and wrote

i dont know what the homework is can u tell me?!?!

my response, if I chose to respond at all, would probably be about a couple of things other than what the students wanted to know. I would want to respond that a.) their messages to me need to have some element of formality, and b.) that they should write the homework in their planner during class when prompted, check the website if needed, and ask a friend before reaching out to me. In short, to use their resources!

However, if they had already done those three things, and still needed clarification about an assignment, a much better way to go about asking for help would be to write

Hi Ms. Keenan,

I forgot the details of what the homework assignment is. I should have written down more  detail in my planner. I will plan to do that next time. I also checked the website and asked Student B already, but I'm still confused. Could you please let me know the details of the assignment? In the future, I plan to write down the homework in detail as soon as you tell us what it is. 

Thank you,

Student A 

Just a quick example, but I hope you get the point! 

 

During Reading Strategies

Here's another screencast...

This time, it's about a few strategies to use during reading. 

Pop some popcorn, enjoy the video, then grab a good book and start practicing the strategies!

Before Reading Strategies

As we know, being strategic about reading saves time and energy AND helps you to better understand and retain what you read. Being a strategic, active reader needs to happen before, during, and after reading. In the screencast below, learn about active reading in general AND a few before-reading strategies you can use to warm up your brain for the text.

Tips from parents!

Many parents can experience nervousness about sending their child to a new school, or are unsure what they- and their child- can expect as they move on to another grade. If you (or your parent) falls into this category, you're not alone!

Although we're now a week and a half or so into the new school year, some parents submitted excellent tips for easing the transition back to school.


"As nerve-wracking as it may be for parents and/or child to send your kid off to a new place for the first time, just remember that it is unlikely that this is the first time that the school, daycare, or institution is welcoming a new face. If you've done your research, you're going to be leaving your child in the hands of well qualified individuals who likely have a seamless process in transitioning new children into a new school year/ program. As a parent, take a deep breath, kiss your kid goodbye, and really try to appreciate the quiet adult time you'll have (whether it be at work, school, or home) while your kids are off socializing."
- Mrs. W., mother of 2


"Build and develop a relationship with your child's teacher(s). Get to know, understand, and have comfort in the person or people who are the experts and are charged with educating your child. Once you have established an open line of communication, trust and development can thrive, for the student and the parent."
- Mr. R., father of 1 


"Try to tour wherever you're sending your child and meet the people who will be working with them, PRIOR to beginning their first day. It will be nice for the child and for you to have a familiar face and sense of the atmosphere, come that first day of school...when those nerves really start to act up!"
- Mrs. D, mother of 3


"In the days before school starts, help your child do some "mental walk-throughs" of the first day of school. This way, when the first day rolls around, your child will have already had an opportunity to mentally rehearse what the experience will be like!"
- Mrs. K., mother of 5

"...Reassure your student that nerves are normal, and that there are many other students who will be having the same thoughts and feelings on the first day of school. This will be the first day for a lot of the kids!"
- Anonymous

"The night before, make sure everything is ready for the morning. For my kids, that means picking our clothes, having their backpacks by the door, and 2 of them shower the night before."
- Anonymous

"Practice your morning routine before the actual first day, so you can start the day by being on time and not in panic mode!" 
- Mrs. F, mother of 3

Any more tips to share? Please email or comment below!

It's (almost) that time again!

I don't know about you, but I'm actually looking forward to the school year starting soon! I have a lot of ideas and plans for how I can make my teaching more effective and engaging, and I'm looking forward to getting to know all of my new students and seeing returning students.

At the middle school, we just finished up a 4-day mini-course for new students, where participants were introduced to a variety of strategies that will help them become more skilled at things like time management, organization, active reading, memorization, note-taking, and self advocacy. We had a fantastic group of students participate, and I want to thank their parents for supporting their attendance too.

Below is part of a letter that was sent home to parents on the last day of the mini-course; these are just some suggestions of how parents might support their student's continued progress once the school year is underway. Parents- you may see something in here that could be applicable to your child, even if he or she is not in middle school. Students- you may see something in here for yourself too! Just throwing it out here in case it can be helpful to anyone...

•  Help your student create and follow routines for homework and organization.

• Talk with your student about the strategies he or she is using to complete tasks; this reinforces the metacognitive element of learning.

• Help your student break down long-term projects or assignments into smaller, more manageable tasks; we call this “chunking” or “breaking big rocks into pebbles.” Then, help them to plan (and write down!) when to complete each smaller task, starting with the due date and working backwards; we call this “backwards planning.”

• Talk with your student about what he or she is learning, both content-wise and skill-wise. Emphasize that different strategies work for different people, and that we all need to figure out how we learn best, so we can be efficient and effective learners.

• Part of a student’s middle school experience should be figuring out how to manage more responsibility and independence. For students to have opportunities to learn and practice this, they need to be allowed to grapple with tasks, attempt to problem-solve independently, and experience natural consequences for their actions and inactions. (The Gift of Failure by Jessica Lahey is an interesting book that builds on this idea.)

• Encourage your child to communicate with his or her teachers and/or advisor, especially if they are feeling confused, overwhelmed or unsure of themselves. You could role-play a conversation they might have, or encourage them to write a note or email the teacher if they’re hesitant to initiate a conversation with them.

• Encourage your student to attend extra help sessions with their teachers, and any other skill-building workshops offered by the school (e.g. the HLC’s Snack and Study sessions are held about 2 times each month, for an hour after sports- so your student would need to be picked up from school when it’s over. Upcoming Snack and Study topics and dates will be posted in the weekly TNN email, and they will be in the daily morning announcements as well.) If you're not sure what resources might be available, have your child inquire!

•  Maintain a growth mindset- that is, embrace the belief that we can grow our “intelligence” in different areas, with strategic practice and perseverance. In conversations with your child about schoolwork, grades, and “abilities,” emphasize that strategic practice of a skill actually changes the brain’s structure by building and solidifying neural pathways; so, they’re not “doomed” to always struggle with one task, skill, or content area because the brain is like a muscle we can exercise to make stronger. (See the work of Carol Dweck for more information on growth mindsets- it’s pretty interesting stuff!)

Enjoy your remaining days of summer vacation, 

and see you soon!

Public Speaking

I will be presenting at the Annual Conference for the Association for Middle Level Educators (AMLE) this October, in Austin TX, which is a giant leap out of my comfort zone. Austin and the accompanying queso dip is totally within my comfort zone however, so I have that to look forward to...

Thinking about putting together a presentation and making sure that my first experience of speaking in front of a collection of colleagues from around the country, is at first quite daunting- but also exciting. In anticipation of this, I have begun to do some research about what makes a presentation engaging, and something that the audience actually wants to pay attention to. All of us, students and adults alike, have opportunities to become better at public speaking and engaging an audience. The following tips may help you to be more effective and interesting the next time you have the opportunity to speak in front of a group of people. 

1. Rehearse out loud, and with props or slides you plan to use. Practice in the room where you'll actually do the presentation, if possible. Listen to how the words sound coming out of your mouth, so you can avoid tongue twisters or awkward phrasing.

2. Speak slowly and loudly enough so the person in the back of the room can hear you.

3. Make eye contact with various members of your audience. If you make eye contact with them, they're more likely to make eye contact with you and remain at attention.

4. Some rules about using slides:

• Do not read off your slides word-for-word; this can make you feel more comfortable because you're just reading out loud and not really having to think about presenting, but it's boring for your audience and they're more likely to zone out while you're talking. 
• Use just a few words per slide. 
• Use images that directly tie in to what you are saying. An image is more likely to stick with a person in the audience, even if they don't remember exactly what you were saying. 
• Keep lists to a minimum; do not have more than 5-6 items on a slide. (I'm taking this advice right now, and am about to wrap up this post.)

5. Act excited and enthusiastic about the idea you're presenting; if you come off as bored, your audience will almost certainly be bored by you and your presentation no matter how much good information it contains.


I don't know about you, but I will certainly be using these strategies as I practice my presentation, and in October when it's time to chew my last tortilla chip, wipe the queso from my mouth, and speak with the audience! 

Preparing for Exams (and other tests)

With summer just around the corner, students (and parents) may be starting to think about end-of-year exams. No need to panic though! Keep in mind the following to get through exam season without a hitch...

An organized visual schedule can be
a great cue or prompt
for sticking to your plan

Time Management is Essential! 

• Find blocks of 30-45 minutes in your schedule, and then plan what to focus on during those blocks of time.
• Map out the “what” AND the “how." 
• Doing this in advance can save you time (and stress) later on. 
• Build in a short break (2-5 minutes) for every 45-60 minutes of studying.
• Use a timer so your breaks don't get too long!

• Prepare by first collecting content from which to study; then, create study materials; then, actively engage with and utilize those study materials. (More tips about this are below.)

•  Some teachers will work with you in class, to prepare for exams, and may even give you a timeline and specific tasks to do for preparation. Stick to those recommendations!

Keep a Balanced Perspective

• Keep these tests in perspective.
• Focus on the process, versus the product. 
• This means emphasizing the habits that you are working to develop, and the process of figuring out the sorts of study techniques that work best for you as an individual, rather than solely emphasizing the grade you end up with.
• Focus on HOW you're studying, rather than HOW MUCH you study.
• Maintain healthy habits: eat well-balanced meals, get plenty of sleep, stay active, and continue to participate in the things you enjoy!

Use ACTIVE Study Strategies

“Reading over” textbooks and notes is NOT efficient studying!

“Chunk Down” the Content- Break large amounts of material into smaller pieces. Before setting out to attack your class material, color code or label it. Divide the material into what you know well (green), what you need to review (yellow), and what is unfamiliar (red).
 You can also consider breaking down your material into the categories outlined on a study guide given to you by your teacher, or according to how recent the material is.


Teach Someone Else-You’ll know that you’re really comfortable with the material if you can teach it to someone else. Teach a parent or sibling, encourage them to ask you questions...and then answer their questions.

CREATE Study Materials  

• Using pre-made Quizlet sets is okay, but you may retain more when you’re creating the study materials instead of just reviewing what someone else has done.

A graphic organizer, filled in or entirely created by you,
can be a great way to see the big ideas
and connections in your class material. 

• ŸGraphic Organizers: For many classes, it can make sense to create a graphic organizer or visual that shows the connections between the content/ topics that you have studied this year. Creating a graphic organizer can help you to not only see how the topics are connected, but can also help you to identify “big ideas” to focus on. 

• ŸNote Cards: On the front, write the term, big idea, event, etc. On the back, answer who, what, when, where, why is it significant questions. Does it take longer? Yes, but you will have a more thorough understanding of the material. 

• Create a visual trigger on the front of the note card. This can be a phrase or picture, or some other sort of mnemonic. In the testing situation, the visual trigger may be just the thing that pops into your mind and cues the answer.

• Play with the note cards. Rather than just flipping through and trying to memorize the words on the card, get creative. Make different groups and categories (e.g. leaders and battles; bones and organs; verbs and nouns) then re-categorize them. Compare the cards to one another. How were 2 leaders the same or different? Why was one battle more significant than others? By manipulating the note cards, you are engaging in higher-level thinking…the sort of skills you’ll need to practice in order to answer essay and other open-response questions.

• ŸTriple Note Totes: These are useful when you’re working on memorizing material. Fold a paper into three columns. In the first column, list the vocabulary you’re trying to remember. In the middle column, write the definition or important information about that term. In the third column, create and note down a mnemonic device for linking the term to the necessary information (definition, dates, importance, etc.).

Test Yourself- You’ve have had a whole year’s worth of experience taking tests and quizzes for a class, so you can use those old assessments to study from. You can:

• Make corrections to old tests and quizzes, using your notes and textbooks.
• Make up your own practice questions based on the sorts of questions teachers have used in the past.
• Look at chapter titles or section headings in a book, and turn them into essay questions.
• Turn class notes into fill-in-the-blank or short answer questions.
• Make practice tests to exchange with classmates.

Form a Study Group- Study groups can be good for reinforcing material you already know, and provide you with an opportunity to practice and review what you’re not as comfortable with. However, you must keep them structured and focused, in order for group meetings to be useful.

Have additional tips for dealing with exams? Share in the comments below!

Reading with a Purpose

To be an efficient reader, you should read with a PURPOSE. 

This means that you should determine WHY you're reading the text, and what you'll be asked to do with the information in that text.
For example:

• will have a quiz on vocabulary the next day?
• will you be assessed on your understanding of "big ideas" in the text?
• will you discuss what you read in class the next day?
• will you be asked to write a paper on the topic?
• will you need general background knowledge on this topic, as a jumping-off point for further study?
• will you later need to answer questions about the reading?
• will you need to match the people mentioned in the text, to certain dates or events?

By first determining your purpose, you'll then be able to decide what you should be paying the most attention to while reading.
For example:

• if you know you will be assessed on how well you know the vocabulary in the text, you would pay closest attention to that vocabulary (which may be bolded or highlighted in some texts). 

• if you know you'll have to discuss the text in class the next day, you would benefit from thinking about major questions the text brings up, or how you'd summarize what you read.

• if you know you'll have to answer questions about the text, you could preview those questions so that you're looking for the answers while reading. 

Once you have an idea of your purpose for reading, you can adapt your reading strategy to fit that purpose. For additional pre- and during-reading strategies and tips, check out some of the other posts on this blog, like this one, this one, or this one.

Graphic Novels as a Tool for Accessing Content

Last night, I finished reading a graphic novel called Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. It is about a young girl growing up in Iran in the 1970s and 1980s. While I had previously attempted to learn more about that region's conflicts and underlying causes of them, I feel like I never really had a firm grasp of how the recent history of the country impacted its role in the world today.

The format of this book, however, really helped me to see not only the personal impact of the revolutions and war during that time on one family, but also to understand some of the broader political and religious situations that contributed to this time of upheaval. While it looks like a comic book, with its black and white drawings with speech and thought bubbles, and is broken into vignettes that could be read piecemeal, altogether the book really
helped me to better understand the historical context of what has happened in the Middle East in the last few decades.

There are a variety of graphic novels and graphic representations of different historical periods, that may help you or your student to build some background knowledge on the topic. Having background knowledge, as you know, will help you to better understand your textbook or other, more complex required reading. There are also graphic novel versions of many classic novels too, which can be a good supplement to reading the real book, an enjoyable review of major plot points, or a good previewing and jumping-off place prior to reading the whole book.

Give it a try, and you might find it both helpful and enjoyable!