Successes in Month One

With August coming to an end and two full weeks of school in the books, I figured I'd reflect and share some things that went well!

KWL Chart about Me
On the first day of school I focus on letting the kids share about themselves so I can get a feel for their personalities and the group dynamic of each class period.

Day two is dedicated to sharing about myself and the class. In the past, I've had students write down one or two questions to ask me about at the end of the first day so I can review them and create a presentation about myself based on what they asked. However, this has always ended up being really long and leave little interaction beyond me simply rambling at them for an entire class period.

Last year, I adopted the idea of using a KWL Chart from one of my colleagues. The kids use what they notice about me and anything they see around the room to list 3-5 things that they THINK they know about me. Then I have them share what they think. Usually we have a good chuckle with some of their responses but I don't give anything away. Then I have them write down 3-5 questions they have about me or the class. I tell them this is their one shot to ask anything they want (so long as it's school appropriate) and I promise to answer truthfully.

After they've created their questions, I give a brief presentation about myself and what they can expect to learn in class, a little about how I grade, and the type of assignments we will have. I also introduce my materials list at this point. Tye students write down anything interesting they learn and the answers to their questions. After the presentation, I let the kids ask any additional questions that they wrote down and I didn't cover or any questions they thought of as I presented.

Every class period ended with the students asking some very funny, unique, and thoughtful questions. It was a great way to build report quickly and easily. The kids were excited and engaged as well.

Book Pass
Another idea I adopted from one of my amazing colleagues this year was the idea of using a book pass. The entire English department decided to begin each class period with 10-15 minutes of reading to help inspire a love of reading and to increase literacy scores.

Helping students to find a book they actually enjoy is a priority in our department. We really want students to find some enjoyment in reading that they can hopefully take with them into adulthood. To do this, we used a book pass!

In this activity, I placed different novels from my classroom library on each desk in my classroom. Students spent 5 minutes with each book examining, rating, and taking notes on the cover, the teaser on the back of the book, and the first two pages of the novel. At the end of class, students had to select a book to read for ten minutes. Many students ended up checking out books from my library that day to take home because they liked them so much! And those who didn't were at least introduced to four books that they may or may not be interested in the future.

I liked this activity so much, that I would extend it! This year, students examined four different books. Next year, I may do 5 or 6! It's the most excited I've seen students about books. . . Ever.

NoRedInk.com
I heard about this website from an online form last year and breifly piloted it as an extra credit assignment with my students last year. I love this site for grammar skills.

The first content lessons of the year focused on parts of speech as my students have difficulty writing grammatically correct sentences and understanding the foundations of grammar. I taught several mini lessons on the various parts of speech and followed it up with a practice assignment on NoRedInk.com. The practice assignments force students to answer questions over and over until they can get four correct in a row to level up. If they level up 4 times, they have mastered the skill. If students miss a question it shows them the correct answer and gives them notes on the skill they are practicing. If they miss enough, it alerts the teacher that they need extra help.

Some of my students got really competitive with this and worked ahead. Those who finished early moved on to assignments we hadn't covered in class yet or helped their struggling peers. I could circulate the room and work with those who needed extra help, but more of the remediation and acceleration of the program is done digitally. AND IT GRADES THEM FOR YOU!!!

There were, of course, some technical issues, and my co-taught class with many SPED kids struggled with some of the assignments to the point where I had to offer them an alternative assignment. However, seeing as so many of my students really got into the program and seemed to enjoy it, even when it was hard, I will absolutely continue to use it again.

Classroom Rewards System
I was "raised" in a PBIS school. My first two years of teaching were in a high school which had adopted and nearly perfected a PBIS program that really worked to create a positive campus culture. When I moved schools, I was so disappointed to see that my current school didn't have a whole lot of positive reinforcements and that the culture was not a very happy one.

To combat this issue, I create a classroom rewards system using fake dollars with my name on them. I created these in Google Docs, printed them on green paper I had tucked away, and cut them out. It took all of 15 minutes to create 150 of them to start the year off w get gateith. I explained to students who my classroom expectations were and that if I caught them following these expectations or being generally amazing, they could get these dollars.

The dollars can be saved an traded for prizes. All of which are free. At first I gave these out to anyone I saw coming into class and getting started right away, now I give them out less frequently but still try to give 2-5 per period.

1$ = positive call home
2$ = using their headphones to listen to music while they work
3$ = working outside (when it fits the lesson)
4$ = 5 points of extra credit
5$ = a 5 minute tardy pass at the beginning of class
6$ = free roast of the teacher (when approved at the end of a class period)
7$ = choosing their seat and those who sit around them