Emily

Hey, there. Thanks for joining us today for teacher approved tips, a special series from the teacher approved podcast. Every Thursday, we're bringing you a weekly bonus episode highlighting new and favorite teacher approved tips from us and other amazing educators.

Emily

Our first tip is, remember the three first day truths when you plan your first day of school. Heidi tell us about this.

Heidi

So we have three truths that we think everyone needs to consider when they are planning their first day of school. The first truth is, you need a minute by minute plan. You might be thinking that you're a veteran teacher, and surely you can just wing it. But trust us, the day will go better if you plan it in great detail.

Emily

Yeah, the more detailed the better. That's why we call our first day plans a script. We have every minute of the day accounted for on that script so that we can get all the details we need to remember that busy day out of our heads and into the plans.

Heidi

It's so much easier to get done what you want to when it's planned out in explicit detail. So we highly recommend that you get super detailed in this script. Even though you know that students need a bathroom break as soon as they come in from recess, just write it down anyway.

Emily

It can be so easy to let little details fall through the cracks on such a busy day. And it's also helpful to be able to look back after the blur of the first day and see everything you've covered that day.

Heidi

You won't always need to have your days written out in such painstaking detail. But for the first day for sure, and probably the first week, you really need a minute by minute plan. If you want to hear more about how we write our first day script, be sure to check out episode 77.

Emily

The second first day truth is you have to over plan. The absolute last thing you want to be doing on the first day of school is scrambling to find an activity to do because the ones you planned took half as much time as you expected.

Heidi

And that is bound to happen on the first day. If you've never taught school before, consider this your warning. Most activities will probably take much more or much less time than you expect them to because that's just how the first day goes. I think it's especially common for activities to get done really quickly on the first day, because everyone is nervous and they're on their best behavior so they blaze right through the activity much faster than you expected.

Emily

So you've got to over plan. A great way to be prepared is to make a bank of time filler activities that you can use at the beginning of the year. I would make some broad categories of activities like music, movement, video or books, and make sure you've got a couple of activities for each category so you can grab what feels right for the current moment.

Heidi

Our tip in Episode 77 includes more details on how to make a back to school time filler activity kit before school starts.

Emily

And the third first day truth is you need to break up the talking. There is just so much to say to your new students at the start of a new school year, you have about 100 procedures and routines you need to tell them about and it would be so easy to fill every minute of the day just talking to them. But obviously we know that's not going to be fun for anyone involved, least of all you

Heidi

We highly recommend breaking up the talking throughout your first day. When you do something talking heavy like teaching your procedure follow it up with something that will give the students a break from listening and you a break from talking. It's a great idea to try and move locations too. So if you worked on a procedure at your desks or tables, maybe next we'll move to the carpet for a movement break or a partner activity.

Emily

Try to break up the talking parts of your first day as much as possible. And keep that in mind for the first couple of weeks as well. You and your kids are both working up you're talking and listening stamina again with the new school year.

Heidi

We'd love to hear your thoughts on the first day truths. Come share your thoughts over in the Teacher Approved Facebook group.

Emily

Our second teacher approved tip today comes from author and teacher Lauren McLean.

Lauren

Hi, everyone. I'm Lauren MacLean. I'm a grade 2-3 teacher, part time outdoor learning consultant, host of the Teach Outdoors Podcast and author of the best selling children's picture book Me and My Sit Spot.

Lauren

My tip is how to get outdoors and find mathematical connections in nature. At the beginning of the year, I teach outdoor routines the same way I teach indoor routines: step by step, one at a time with visuals, and lots of repetition. We also co create a classroom charter and we do the same for outdoor classroom, we ask ourselves, how do we want to feel and act in these spaces.

Lauren

Once we have routines in place for being outdoors safely and calmly, then we can begin to find ways of connecting our experiences to the curriculum. For my teacher tip, I think it would be all too easy to just list some of my favorite outdoor math activities. However, I'm not sure that has the same impact as talking about what outdoor routines help support numeracy.

Lauren

Think of the indoor routines that you explicitly teach at the beginning of school, like how to line up at the door, wash hands for snack. The three outdoor routines, I'm going to talk about are nature walks, circle reflections, and journaling.

Lauren

Number one nature walks. When we start going on daily nature walks we usually follow the same route for about a week. This allows us to get into a routine and practice different things each day without the distractions of a new space. We walk calmly, we stop a lot to discuss observations and ask wonder questions.

Lauren

Then we can begin having a more mathematical focus on our nature walks. We can count and compare the number of birds flying overhead versus the number of birds we see in the trees. As we walk, we can stop to estimate how many more steps it will take to get to the hemlock tree. Most recently on our nature walks, we have been doing a lot of data collection.

Lauren

For instance, we had the focus to look for and count the number of purple flowers, and then created graphs and charts to display the data collected.

Lauren

Number two circle reflections. At the end of our nature walks we always end up on the grass soccer field to gather in a circle. This is when we pass around a nature item like a pine cone as a talking piece. Whoever's holding the talking piece may share their observations and questions or may pass along to the next friend.

Lauren

No one is forced to share. But we are all expected to listen respectfully when we're not holding the talking piece. Our circle reflections allow us to dig a bit deeper into any mathematical topic we may be focusing on. Last week, we were chatting about measurement in relation to the new growth we were observing in our garden beds.

Lauren

But during circle, our conversation naturally shifted to a different math focus: patterning. The students had observed the tomato plants had an alternate growth pattern in their leaves. They wondered how many other plants had similar patterns.

Lauren

Number three journaling. After our circle discussions, we usually move on to some sort of activity. And then I try to end each outdoor learning session with a way for the students to document their learning, which helps keep them accountable. This might be making something with natural loose parts, which is anything that has already fallen to the ground. We never pick things that are still growing, or students could use a blank nature journal to draw and write their reflections.

Lauren

I find this a wonderful, open ended way for students to document their mathematical thinking. I find having these three simple nature routines in place helps us dive into any mathematical concept with ease. They allow us to uncover and discover numeracy and students begin to understand how math and the natural world are connected.

Lauren

Okay, I quickly wanted to end with two of my favorite nature management strategies. Number one have a common gathering place like your circle inside your classroom. For us we meet at a western red cedar tree. When we first head outside, it's where we gather in between activities, and where I leave my teacher bag filled with field guides and band aids.

Lauren

Number two, I use a coyote howl to get the students to return to me. And we practice this repeatedly at the beginning of the year. The students are off doing their scavenger hunts, but I want them to come back and gather at the cedar tree. So I do my coyote howl O and the students walk slowly and calmly back to me.

Lauren

I wanted to find a simple way to continue supporting educators along their journey to play and teach outdoors. So I have a new promotion to celebrate my new outdoor learning consulting website. If you head over to www.teachoutdoors.ca you can find some free downloadable worksheets to help you teach math in nature.

Lauren

When you go under the blog tab, you will find an article called Math in Nature where you can download all the files. They have a user friendly design and the open ended nature of the worksheets help students build a strong connection with nature while at the same time developing their numeracy skills. It will help make teaching math in nature a breeze excuse the pun.

Lauren

So head over to my website, download your free worksheets. Again it's www.teachoutdoors.ca and don't forget to follow me on Instagram at @teachoutdoors.ca to follow along on our daily adventures with playing, learning and teaching in nature. Thank you for listening, I hope you picked up a few helpful tips on discovering math in nature.

Emily

Thank you Lauren for that fantastic tip. I love how she shared specific routines that you can introduce to your teaching and connect those to your curriculum, especially your math instruction.

Heidi

We are all about a good routine. So if getting outdoors more as a goal for you, making routines to incorporate it is a great way to plan for success. And her two nature management strategies are sure to help you find success in your adventures outdoors.

Emily

Be sure to check out Lauren's free resources that she mentioned for teaching math in nature. We'll link to that in our show notes.

Heidi

That's it for today's episode. Remember the three first day truths as you plan your first day of school, and try Lauren's teacher approved tip to get outside and find mathematics in nature.