Ms. Natasha Theodora
Best Teaching Practice

Changing Our Thinking: Teaching for Transfer

Changing Our Thinking: Teaching for Transfer

There are many practices from long ago that we need to rethink as teachers. This series looks to bring up those practices and offer alternate ideas that are more relevant in today’s classroom. Today we’re discussing teaching the child not the program. The skills we teach students today should be transferrable to all stories or all writing or all problems. We need to teach for transfer and help students make connections. 

 

We used to teach the book, writing or problem

Teachers used to pick up books like The Sign of the Beaver (one of my most hated whole class texts) and think, “what lessons does this book teach?” Then they would teach the book. I made a map of main out of dough. I had to look up new vocabulary words in every chapter even if I didn’t find any new words. My classmates built log houses out of sticks and the activity list could go on and on. While these activities may have helped me understand The Sign of the Beaver, I couldn’t take those same skills and apply them to another text. When we finished that book we went on to another one and repeated the same process again with no connection to the previous book. 

In writing, teachers would circle mistakes in red pen and students would correct the mistakes. Students would make the same mistakes every time and then the teacher would circle it and they would fix them. This cycle could continue indefinitely. Some kids would receive things that were circled that they didn’t even know how to fix. Worse yet, some teachers never even had their students write for an authentic audience. They just wrote in response to prompts or in other ways but never produced writing on their own. While student writing might have looked nice with all the correct capitalization and punctuation, if the student couldn’t really do it on their own did they really know how to do it? 

In math we solved problem after problem with no connection between the problems. Teachers would see students make the same mistakes over and over and would teach them how to solve that specific problem. In word problems this happens especially. We teach the problem instead of teaching strategies to solve all word problems. Sarah has six pennies and then she got five more. How many does she have now? Ugh… actually most teachers might go through a template that doesn’t allow for student thinking instead of teaching them comprehension skills. A lot of math teaching still looks like this hilarious Kid Snippets video. 

What's the Problem?

The problem with taking a book like The Sign of the Beaver and pulling out all the lessons kids could learn in that specific book or circling all the mistakes a child makes on one specific writing assignment or telling the child how to solve one specific math problem is that there is no transfer. The child cannot walk away from that book or writing assignment or math problem and take what they’ve learned and apply it to their future learning.

When teaching reading, we want to teach skills that all readers can use in any book.

In writing, we want to teacher the writer skills that they can apply to any writing piece.

In math, we want to teach mathematicians strategies they can take to the next problem. 

When we begin to teach the CHILD instead of the book or writing or problem we are creating independent learners. That child can take the knowledge they’ve learned and apply it to the next time they read or write or solve a problem. They have learned transferrable skills.

They can begin to see that reading skills apply to all books not just to certain ones. Nonfiction readers do the same thing regardless of text. Fantasy readers use the same strategies regardless of text. Historical fiction readers need a certain set of skills regardless of text. Decoding skills and learning new words can be the same in every text. 

In writing if we correct every single mistake then they child can’t  become a better writer. If this week you teach that writers use punctuation to help guide the reader. Then that child can focus in on punctuation. Punctuation might not be in every child’s zone of proximal development. If it isn’t in their ZPD then don’t waste time on it. Look for the skills that they do need. A child can learn that regardless of genre all writers find a way to draw in their audience. 

In math they can see that mathematicians are always making connections. Math is built upon reasoning and relationships. Strategies you use in addition can be used in subtraction and multiplication and fractions and so many other things! The different operations and problem types don’t live in a silo and mathematicians know how to connect different math concepts. 

What to do Instead

Reading

First of all, we shouldn’t be teaching whole class novels anymore… a good topic for a new changing our thinking post. For more on best practice in Literacy join me on Tuesdays and check out the Literacy Instruction tab at the top of the page. 

Think about the skills each reader needs. Books can teach a wide variety of skills. In one Bailey School Kids book I can teach about the mystery genre and how readers try to solve mysteries along with the characters. I can teach decoding skills as kids discover words they don’t know. I can teach fluency skills and encourage readers to let their voice reflect the tone of the story. I can teach that readers reread when things don’t make sense. I can teach that readers of a series learn about the characters and pay attention to their traits. I can teach that readers can connect the previous chapter to the current chapter. I could go on and on. 

Switch your thinking. Instead of what skills can this book teach? Think, what skills does this reader need? Not every reader needs the same skills and most books can teach the reader the skills they need. 

Writing

Teachers should no longer be editors in the writing classroom… another topic for a changing our thinking!

As you watch your writers work, notice their mistakes. Notice the skills that they have independently mastered and compliment them on those skills. Notice the skills that they use correctly most of the time but still make errors on from time to time. Notice the skills that they are beginning to correct on their own but don’t do it frequently. Notice the errors that they make all the time but don’t correct at all. Notice everything they do. Then decide what to teach. 

When deciding what to teach not all writers will need the same skills. If a child is able to do something on their own, they don’t need to be taught that skill. If a child makes errors but never corrects them, this skill might not be in their zone of proximal development yet. They might not be ready for it yet. Teach in to the mistakes that they are beginning to correct on their own but don’t have down yet. Become their coach and teach them those skills. 

Writers use punctuation to guide their reader. Writers use capital letters at the start of a sentence. Writers break their writing into paragraphs to organize their ideas better and make their writing easier to read. Writers use strategies to spell words correctly. These are all teaching points that can be applied to any piece of writing. 

Switch your thinking. Instead of, what is this writer doing wrong? Think, what skills does this writer almost have? What can I teach them today that they can learn to do independently and apply to the next piece of writing?

Math

Oh, math. So often in math we teach and prompt kids in the easiest way for them to get the answer. Isn’t math just answer getting? If you haven’t watched this video about answer getting in math then take a moment to do so. Math is not all about answer getting. When we don’t teach for reasoning and understanding we often teach for answer getting. 

Instead of teaching the specific problem ask yourself what is a skill this mathematician could apply to every problem they encounter. Maybe they need to know that mathematicians struggle but they keep going when it is hard. Mathematicians construct arguments to explain their reasoning. Mathematicians create a model to try to solve an unknown problem. Mathematicians use different strategies to solve problems. 

Switch your thinking. Instead of, how can this student get the answer? Think, what skills does this mathematician need? What skills could I teach them today that they can apply to future problems as well. 

What I've Learned

Teaching for transfer has completely changed my teaching. I now reflect a lot of each child’s zone of proximal development and how to teach for independence. When I think about transfer it means that the child can do the skill without you and can bring this knowledge with them to any problem, book, experiment, or whatever. 

 

Leave your thoughts in the comments below! I would love to hear about your journey in teaching for transfer and answer any questions you may have. 

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Math Instruction

Changing Our Thinking: Access to Math Manipulatives

Changing Our Thinking: Access to Math Manipulatives

There are many practices from long ago that we need to rethink as teachers. This series looks to bring up those practices and offer alternate ideas that are more relevant in today’s classroom. Today we’re discussing where and how we store our math manipulatives. 

WHat We've Always Done

When I was in elementary school math manipulatives magically appeared when we needed them. Oh, today we’re measuring things? Well, look at that! The rulers have made their way to the front table. Oh, we need a calculator for today? Look what has appeared out of nowhere! Teachers controlled the manipulatives. They pulled manipulatives out of the cabinet and then put it back. I assume this is because of storage space. Let’s face it. We don’t all have a lot of room in our classroom. The idea that I have to have room for an entire classroom library plus my math manipulatives is a lot of space. We don’t always have a lot of space… or the organizational storage we need. 

What's the Problem?

If students don’t have access to math manipulatives then they don’t have any choice. Natasha! Do kids really need choice about math manipulatives? YES! The answer is alway yes! In a teacher centered classroom it makes sense that the teacher is the only one who can access the math tools. She gives the kids the rulers when they need a ruler. They get to use base ten blocks when it is time to learn about place value. The tools are controlled by the teacher and are handed out when the teacher deems them necessary to use. Students don’t get to explore them and they don’t have very many options. Each tool has just one use that is predetermined by the teacher. We limit student’s use of manipulatives and we limit their creativity with them. 

What to do Instead

First and foremost in most elementary classrooms there is a space for a classroom library. There should also be a space for math manipulatives. Take a minute or two to look around and analyze how you’re using your space. What do you have that could make your math manipulatives more accessible to students? Maybe you don’t have ideal storage right now, that’s ok! Even making them the slightest more available to students is a start. Once you establish a space and a storage system for math manipulatives teach your students about your space. Tell them they can use any math tool during math time. Teach them how to use all of the different tools you have available. Let them explore and give them choice. 

Instruction today should focus on independence. What skills can children complete independent from an adult? This is how you truly know what your students know. If you are constantly giving students math manipulatives you take away their choice and their independence. Once students are familiar with all of the manipulatives available to them they are able to choose which tool will work best for them. Some of my kids use rekenreks while some use 10-frames. I ensure that my students know how to use all tools but they have the freedom to choose which ones they use. 

Here is the cool thing about giving kids the power to choose math manipulatives themselves, kids use tools in unconventional ways that you might not have considered. Last year during recess one of my diamonds made up her own math game with a 100 bead string and two dice. She would roll the dice, add them up and then move the beads along the string. If you played with a partner the first person to 100 won! Later in the year a different student used a 10-frame as a measuring tool. They measured how many 10-frames long our carpet was. If I had told them we were only measuring (grade 1 uses non-standard measurement) using measurement tools this student would have missed out. It is always cool to see how students use their tools. 

Share Your Thoughts

Do you allow students access to the math manipulatives in your classroom?

How do you have your tools organized? 

Any other comments or suggestions? Let me know down in the comments below! 

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Teacher Life

Changing Our Thinking: Student Names

Changing Our Thinking: Student Names

There are many practices from long ago that we need to rethink as teachers. This series looks to bring up those practices and offer alternate ideas that are more relevant in today’s classroom. Today we’re discussing making fun of student names. 

 There is no such thing as a weird name. Names are names and they are important. Names are cultural no culture is weird. They should be honored and treated with respect.
 
If you follow Bored Teachers then you no doubt saw this now deleted post on Instagram.  At the time I saw it I was so sick I couldn’t even respond.  Hmm, I wrote last that sentence because at the time I was physically sick (fever, vomiting- the fun part of my summer) but you could also say I was sick to my stomach. I did manage to hit unfollow. I just saw it on Pinterest today so while it was deleted it is still floating around and people are repinning it.

The caption on the insta post said, “worse and worse every year.” This is not ok. Let’s talk about it. If you’re doing this, stop. This is disrespectful to students and families. 

Why We Mock Kid's Names

Let’s face it, many teachers are white. All of my elementary teachers were white women. The profession seems to cater towards women like me. Names are a very cultural thing. When I went to school I knew a lot of kids named Sarah or Mike. There were a lot of Ashleys. There were also a lot of people named Mary, Matthew, Luke, Noah, Ruth because I went to a Catholic school. Kids named after saints or biblical characters were normal. The names you hear day in and day out seem normal to you. If I ever met a Mike I wouldn’t think what a funny name. It would never cross my mind. I know a lot of people named Mike. 

When we hear names that are new to us they might sound different and sometimes we label that as weird. Different isn’t weird it is just different. It started to become common practice for teachers to look at their class lists and make fun of the names that were on it. Because white women have a large voice in elementary education and because white people are the majority race it meant that names that weren’t the majority were labeled weird. Teachers would gather around and laugh at kids names… I shouldn’t actually write any of this in past tense. Teachers gather around their list of students and laugh about student names. Who’d you get this year? Look at this kids name? Could this parent spell this name in a worse way? How do you even say this? What kind of name is ____? Who would ever name their kid ____? Oh gosh, look at these sibling’s names!

I’ve heard teachers laugh at a child whose name is Julia but the J is pronounced like a J in Spanish. I’ve heard teachers mock students named Princess, Precious, Destiny, Dymond, and I’cy. I’ve heard teachers laugh at the spelling of kids names Aimee, Jayson, Brookelynne, or Apryl. All teachers have heard of kids called L-a, or Lemonjello and Orangejello. Teachers friends love to hear of kids called King, Stormi (has this been normalized now because of Kylie Jenner?), Furious, Younique, or Thunder.

Please know that I am not coming from an almighty place of immunity. I have looked at my class list and done the same. I would argue that a lot of teachers are in the same category as me. It doesn’t feel good to admit on this blog that I have made fun of children’s names but I have to confess before we discuss why I’ve stopped doing this and why you need to do the same.

What's the Problem?

Naming a Child is a Labor of love

The problem is that first of all THESE ARE CHILDREN. Children who are going to walk into your classroom. They deserve love and respect. They deserve to be treated with kindness. They deserve a teacher who didn’t laugh at their name with their family and friends over the weekend.

Now, I don’t have any children so I haven’t been an active participant in the naming business. I do have many friends who have children. I have watched them make lists and discuss the pros and cons of every name. I have watched them consider what nicknames will be for name options. How the name sounds. I have listened to stories of the people children are named after. I am named after a woman near and dear to my mother’s heart. I have heard parents describe meeting their child for the first time, being filled up with love and just knowing that this child should be named ____. Naming a child is a labor of love. New babies fill parents’ hearts with hopes, wishes, dreams, and joy.

Can you imagine naming a child only to have people mock that name because it is different their whole lives? That is the exact opposite of what any parent wants for their child. I know parents who have kept their expected child’s name a secret because they don’t want people to make fun of the name before the child is even born. I’ve heard people tell stories of people trying to talk them out of a baby name in the hospital immediately after the baby was born. 

This isn’t ok. 

If you aren’t the parent of the child then you really have no say in the name. Unless of course your culture names children in a different way than my culture. I know that in some cultures the parents of the child do not name the child but the name is given in another manner. I guess what I should say is,  if it wasn’t your responsibility to name the child then you don’t get to make any comments on the child’s name. It isn’t your right. You could comment on the name in a positive manner. When people meet me and tell me I have a beautiful name, I like those kinds of people. When I meet people and they wrinkle their nose and ask if I was named after someone, I am very cautious around them. If they can’t even respect your name, can they be trusted? In my experience, usually, no. 

My Name Story

Now, I am a white woman so I have in no way faced the sort of name shaming that minorities have. That is a privilege I have been granted due to being white. People might have been confused by my name but it was still accepted. I never had to justify my name to someone twice. Ever. I would like to make that abundantly clear. Many people have name stories that are much worse than this. 

I have what some might consider a unique name. My name is Natasha Theodora Rice. My parents chose to name me Natasha because they liked the name. They read it in a baby book and connected with it. The name Theodora is a family name. My Great-Aunt was named Theodora. I believe that the name Natasha Theodora has a beautiful ring to it. I am passionately in love with my name. This hasn’t always been the case. 

Growing up I was frequently asked if I was Russian and if I was a ballerina. It didn’t bother me but it always confused me. When I would tell adults my name they would look at me with a confused expression and ask if my family was Russian. I didn’t get it. Now I do. They were trying to find the justification for my name. Why is this little girl from Wisconsin named this Russian name? When I would tell them I wasn’t Russian they would look even more perplexed. At one point my mom must have told me to tell people that my parents liked the name and that is why they chose it. I remember giving this response over and over. I still give this response today. She explained that people could pick any name that felt right to them. My mom constantly pushed me to advocate for myself as a child especially in regards to my name.

My middle name is Theodora. It is a family name. After I would confuse the adults with my first name they usually asked what my middle name was. Maybe they were hoping for a more “normal” middle name. When I told them, I would again see wrinkled foreheads and then, usually, the adult would say Oh, that must be a family name. I would proudly tell them that I was named after my mom’s Aunt Theodora. They didn’t have a lot of questions about that one but I could tell they also didn’t approve. 

My own family didn’t even pronounce my name correctly and still to this day does not. My uncles have always pronounced the Natasha part of my name like ash-uh when it should be pronounced ah-sha… I’m no pro at writing pronunciation guides but the point is that they pronounce it incorrectly. When I was a kid I heard my mom constantly explaining how my name was pronounced and then hearing them sometimes pronounce it correctly with her, only to tell her their pronunciation was good enough. My mom continues this fight to this day, 29 years after I was born. When I was younger, I remember overhearing her tell them that when they pronounce my name incorrectly they are disrespecting who I am as a person. I have taken this lesson to heart. If people are mispronouncing your name it is disrespectful. Everyone deserves to have their name pronounced correctly. 

As a child, I didn’t like my name at all. I learned from the outside world that my name was not on the acceptable name list. Through the constant reactions of the adults I met and my own family members who wouldn’t pronounce my name correctly, I learned that having a different name is not ok. I dreamed of changing my name. For a while, I never wanted to tell people my middle name and sometimes I even joined in as people made fun of it. As I’ve gotten older I have learned to embrace my name. I love it now and I think that it fits me perfectly. 

The lessons my mom taught me have stuck with me. When friends try to pronounce my name incorrectly as a joke, I explain that I don’t think it is funny. It isn’t that I can’t take a joke- something often said to people who take offense at their names being made fun of. My name has been made into a joke too many times by people who don’t respect me. I don’t need the people who love me also joking about it. Most people understand immediately, apologize and stop. Some people find it funny to keep going. I can honestly say that usually, those people seemed to fade out of my life fairly quickly. This my friends was always a red flag for me. 

Names Are Powerful

At my current school, we teach an American curriculum in English. I am once again in the majority at school- even though I am living in Poland and I am not Polish. People in the majority hold the power. How they use it tells a lot about them. I meet people from all over the world with beautiful names that I have never heard before. I ensure that I say every name correctly. I double check my pronunciation to make that I am saying it correctly and that I am respecting and honoring that person. Unfortunately, not everyone does the same.

In Polish the name Anna is pronounced like THIS.  If you click it will be written Ania which is the nickname for Anna and how most Anna’s ask for their name to be pronounced. A teacher at our school started using the American pronunciation. He was corrected several times but didn’t pronounce it correctly. He can pronounce it correctly and does from time to time- he just chooses not to most of the time. Getting real here, you also can pronounce all names correctly. I was once in a meeting with him and a teacher named Katarzyna. Kasia is sometimes a nickname for Katarzyna but this teacher doesn’t go by the nickname. In the meeting, the teacher called her Kasia, Katarzyna, and Katherine. This person Americanized every name. Piotr was Peter. Ania was Anna. Łukasz was Lucas. He refused to call his students the correct names and Americanized them as well.  

This teacher used his pronunciation of names to exert dominance and control. He knew how to pronounce names correctly but chose not to. He was proud of this behavior. A few other Americans noticed this and slowly more and more teachers began pronouncing names incorrectly- even when they knew the correct pronunciation. Fortunately, he has left our school and I hope to hear fewer teachers doing it this year. I will be correcting teachers who do this and, when necessary, explaining why. Names have been used to oppress people all over the world- it shouldn’t happen in schools. We should know better and we should do better.

What to do Instead

  1. Reflect– This isn’t the easiest place to start but I think this is where you must begin your journey. Think about your participation in this event. I know that I have made fun of student names. Like I said earlier, this doesn’t feel good to admit. But I must admit it in order to move forward with better understanding and more awareness. 
  2. Don’t participate– This school year, don’t do it! Don’t look for different names on your class list. Don’t listen as other teachers do it. Walk away. Do not make fun of student names. 
  3. Advocate for change– Just because I stopped doing the behavior doesn’t mean I’ve done my job. I have to advocate for change and educate others. Just this week I was Facetiming with someone from the US. They asked if I get any weird names over here. I explained that we don’t make fun of children’s names anymore. We know that names are extremely cultural so I have kids with names that come from their own culture. I have names I haven’t heard before but I don’t have any weird names. There are no weird names. The person I was talking to was really receptive. He said he didn’t know and what I said made sense. Not everyone will be receptive but we need to make this change. Kids should attend school and feel respected. This starts with correct name pronunciation.  
 

A Quick Word on Nicknames

You should not be giving your students nicknames. You need to call them by the name they ask you to use. If her name is Mary Elizabeth and she asks you to use Mary Elizabeth don’t just call her Mary. If his name is Matthew and he wants to be called Matthew don’t call him Matt or Matty. Sometimes people give nicknames to show love or kindness or friendship but unless the child has asked you to use a nickname. You probably shouldn’t. Especially with elementary kids.

If you start using a nickname some students might not feel comfortable to ask you to stop using the nickname due to the teacher/student power dynamic. I would never have asked a teacher to stop calling me by a nickname. Sometimes I didn’t even correct them if they called me Natalie. 

Please leave a note in the comments. Share your name story, questions you have, advice, comments… whatever it is that you want to share with me. I would love to hear from you! 

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