Posts by Tim Curley

Improv…with Drama

As we all know, one of the casualties of a standards-based curriculum, where THE TEST is the driving force, is the loss of teaching the arts. Performing arts are particularly hard hit. At El Verano School, we are doing what we can to lessen the hit that drama classes have taken.

For the past ten years or so, I have been putting on a stage show with the assistance and collaboration of my colleague, Craig Madison. We have not always had the same grade level, in fact, this year he teaches third grade to my fourth grade. But we still get our kids together and put on a show.

The fact that we put on a play is nice, perhaps even astonishing considering how many students are involved, but I...

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Posted on May 11, 2010 - 08:41 PM by Tim Curley

The Worlds of Fractions and Spelling Collide

When Melia Dicker, IDEA's Communications Director, first asked me to become involved with this project, I thought, "Me?" Then she comes up with this "ImprovEducation" title, and I thought that maybe there could be something there for me to write about. The improvisational aspect of my teaching style comes naturally, and sometimes yields something pretty darn good.

I wrote on January 19 ("Quadrant Spelling") about the way I deliver spelling words to my fourth-grade students, via a pocket chart in the form of an x,y quadrant graph. They all know about coordinates, points, rows and columns now, and participate with great enthusiasm.

We recently began adding fractions with uncommon...

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Posted on Feb 14, 2010 - 03:58 PM by Tim Curley

Quadrant Spelling

In my last posting, I wrote about the day I taught my students about quadrant graphs. The fact that I did so while not talking, using only hand signals and finger pointing, is what I mentioned in the post. I neglected to mention why I chose to introduce the graphs.

From what I can tell, the California State Standards first mention quadrant graphs in seventh grade. I choose to teach them now, in fourth grade, not as a math component, but as part of my spelling program. Rather than posting the spelling words on a chart, or writing them in a composition book, or simply reading them from their workbook, I place them on a quadrant graph that is superimposed over a pocket chart. The result...

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Posted on Jan 19, 2010 - 08:00 PM by Tim Curley

The Day I “Couldn’t Talk”

One recent Monday, I did what I usually do before school. I stood outside the main entry, and greeted the kids as they were dropped off at the curb. I walked through the cafeteria and said hello to the older kids, the younger kids, and the few parents who eat breakfast at school. I do this because I see my role at school as being much more than a classroom teacher. El Verano School is a community, and I feel that we all need to share in that community.

After the bell rang and I began to walk to class, I realized that I had not yet talked to any of my students. And I got an idea.

As I have mentioned in a previous blog entry, I don't do a lot of talking in the first few minutes of class....

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Posted on Jan 02, 2010 - 02:15 PM by Tim Curley

Get ‘em Talking!

The newspapers today have articles stating that research shows that teaching is the happiest career one can choose. My students this year certainly place me in that category. This year has been very enjoyable, indeed. I have a group of students who have a few social leaders, as all groups do, and this year, those social leaders are also academic leaders. This has allowed me to focus less on discipline, and more on creatively approaching their learning needs. They seem to truly enjoy learning, and that has given me the freedom to really have a good time teaching them.

I teach fourth grade in a public elementary school that is about 85% Spanish speaking at home. Because of this, my...

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Posted on Dec 23, 2009 - 03:55 PM by Tim Curley