I just had a graduate student share in one of my courses how their school media specialist shares new texts with middle school students during the morning announcements! She shared that this has greatly contributed to increased reading interest etc. How do you promote reading in your school?
Have you ever hosted a parent academy night? Ic so, what type of activities did you include? Was it called something else?
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What types of assessment do you use in K-1 that is authentic and meaningful to drive instruction? Do you create your own or have a resource that you use to help create assessments based on standards?
One thing that teachers must realize while teaching social studies is to be careful that history is on a time line. While we can take events and people and study them, we have to remember that there were events before and effects after. Students need to be taught to look at history based on the information at the time. For example, we cannot use a modern day dictionary to understand documents written in the past. We have to look at the definition of the words based on the time period. We also cannot change the words to "near synonyms" to make it easier for the students. Words are chosen for their meaning. If we change the words, we change the meaning.
How do you structure parent/teacher conferences?
Do students attend or lead the conference or do you just meet with caregivers?
What information do you share during the conference?
Student Engagement
At this time of year, with the pressures of state testing either behind us (or soon to be), how do we re engage our students? There are opportunities to both reflect on what has worked so far and try some new approaches that may require some change in practice and experimentation. Both opportunities will help you keep students engaged in instruction as the year starts to wind down and also start shaping new and more developed ideas for instruction next year.
What are some new strategies you will use to engage students in instruction?
What are some interesting project ideas or instructional approaches you’ve heard about and want to try?
Working in partners/groups vs. working independently:
One of the best ideas I decided to try out a couple of years ago was creating an anchor chart with students about what each of these looks like and sounds like. (I tried to find a picture of my chart I made my last year as a classroom teacher but couldn't find it!) Students often know what these should look and sound like but having the discussion with them and having them come up with the expectations is so powerful. I've had students have very real and vulnerable conversations that during independent work, the student needs quiet to really do their best work. The way my classes have changed after that vulnerability was drastic. Students (at least elementary age) sometimes believe that teachers are just asking for silence for silence sake; when really it is to give students an opportunity to show their best work. But when it comes from a fellow student, the impact is greater. How do you set up students to be successful in small groups and independently?
How do you build relationships in your classroom?
Next week we are planning an hour with our families for our first and second grade students. We are part of the Leader in Me program and we have invited families to come in and view our Classroom Mission Statements and then create Family Mission Statements! We have set up social media picture spots in the building for families to pose by/at. What hashtag do you think would be fun to use? We are the Lemmer Leopards ;).
Not a question per se, but I wanted to share a book I’m reading this year that I think is a struggle for all teachers in the area of mathematics instruction.
“Underestimated and over- scaffolded” is what stood out to me and mostly because I know that I am guilty of both as a teacher.
Has anyone read this book?
🌱 "Story Roots" Project
What it is: Families trace a favorite story or folktale from their cultural or linguistic background.
How to use: Students share the origin, language, or meaning behind the story and retell it (via video, audio, drawing, or writing).
Bonus: Builds home-school connections and honors multilingualism.
This is one of the projects our upper elementary students are using with their families.
What unique projects are families in your area doing?
What are the first science topics or units you teach in the new school year?
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With this being an election year, what are some of the activities that you do at your school to promote voting? With that, how do you maintain balance in the classroom with the current climate?
How would you plan a lesson for a standard about comparing and contrasting key points from 2 different mediums for older students?
What are some classroom management rituals or practices that you start at the beginning of the year?
