I CANNOT believe we’re already into a new year and I get a BRAND NEW FLOCK on Monday! It has been a nice, long winter break BUT I am itching to get back and meet my new group of students.
Over the past 3-4 years, I’ve started the semester the same way. On the first day, I’ll do a quick syllabus run-down, give the students a survey, maybe do some literary element review…then I’ll dive right into my first short, introductory unit: “And of Clay We Are Created” by Isabel Allende. I’ll have them read the story, learn about literary analysis, and complete a creative project. However, after doing the same thing for 4ish years in a row (so really 8 times in a row since each year has two groups of students for me), I’m ready for a change. Also, if you read my previous post about what my student teacher taught me, you know that I’m trying hard to be less about the test scores and more about the sweet people behind those “numbers.” I spent all weekend thinking about how I’ll do things differently this semester, and here are the top 3 things I’ve decided that I want to use/work on/do better!
1. Keep a running list of what we do each day in ONE spot so that students, teachers, admin., etc. can ALWAYS view what’s happening in my classroom. I have a collection of students who have to miss several days for medical reasons, family issues, suspensions, court orders, etc. so I want to do a better job of not only helping those students “catch up”, but also helping them to become more responsible. I’ve created a Google Doc that I can “share” on my Google Classroom page so that everyone can view what’s happening at any time. Since I plan 1-2 weeks ahead anyway, this will help my students who need to see what’s coming up so they can plan accordingly with their schedules. I’ve also worked over the past semester to develop quick warm-ups that stick with the standards for my students to complete each day. I’ve linked both the warm-up and the warm-up response booklet I also created for the students on that same Google Doc. Here’s a look at what my first week will look like (with my new lesson ideas listed)! Everything in yellow is what I still need to tweak or create before next week. The version my students see shows everything they may need in a clickable link so that they can view the document/presentation on their own device. They no longer have to wait to return to school to catch up on work.
I’m hoping that this will keep both my students and myself more organized and on top of things! I cannot WAIT to dive into my fresh “Back to School” unit on identity. I’m PUMPED to learn more about my new flock.
2. Help students become more confident and comfortable with the speaking and listening standards. Have ya’ll noticed how the classroom is rarely quiet and nobody has any problem acting a fool (as my grandmother would call it) BUT as soon as I say the word “presentation” everyone clams up and/or cries? WHAT IS THAT ABOUT!? I never understand when my students get nervous or “shy” about giving a presentation when I’m scraping them from the ceiling on a weekly basis. However, since this has been a touchy point and growth area for my flocks over the past few years, I wanted to come up with a way to get them comfortable with their own voices. Sometimes, they answer a question so quietly that I feel like I may need a Miracle-Ear and by golly I’m too young for that so they.have.to.learn.how.to.own.their.words. One of my professors in my graduate courses at Appalachian State University used a website called FlipGrid and I WAS OBSESSED. Their tagline is actually “empower every voice.” How cool is that? Flipgrid is basically a way to facilitate connections and interactions through short, recorded videos. Here’s a screengrab from the example on Flipgrid’s website:
As a teacher, I can pose a question to my students (either written or recorded) and they can “respond” by video. They can also respond to other students’ videos as well! I also love the fact that Flipgrid gives a time limit for videos so students have to be concise with their answers. This is a great way to not only differentiate learning for my students who struggle with test-taking (Like I do!), but it also helps all students practice becoming confident in their ideas and comfortable with their own voices without having to literally stand up in front of people. Not to mention – I just really love the emojis, stickers, etc. that come with the program to jazz up your videos!
3. Give students more feedback on writing – but give it to them faster without spending hours with the red pen. I am all about teaching writing because I feel as if it helps students to expand their critical thinking skills. However, MANY of my students are below grade level when it comes to reading and writing. I’ve found it to be incredibly difficult to get the right amount of feedback for proper growth back to every.single.student. in enough time so that they can reflect and revise before the next assignment. I recently discovered the INCREDIBLE work of Meredith from The Bespoke ELA Classroom. It’s like she and I teach such similar flocks because all of her products work SO well with my group, as well. I noticed that she has a YouTube account where she posted this piece of grading BRILLIANCE. Watch this video and you’ll see what I mean. I’m totally going to be using the Google Add-on Doctopus because it seems to make grading writing SO MUCH EASIER. Doctopus can be added to the work that’s been submitted on Google Classroom. A rubric that you create/select will pop up on each student’s work and you can simply click the assigned point value and add pre-written commentary. You can even record a message for the student! I love something that eliminates stacks of papers, makes grading more formulaic AND gives my students valuable feedback. After you watch the video, you will be SOLD just like I was! Best of all, this is a free add-on so we can grade easier and quicker to our little hearts’ content for free! Woo!
Ya’ll, please hold me to these 3 things that I’m trying so hard to implement. Ask me how they’re going, fuss at me if I haven’t updated something, twist my arm and make me! Ha! What are some of the things that you’re looking forward to implementing for the upcoming semester? I’d LOVE to know how you plan to better serve your own flock AND make your teacher-life easier! 🙂
