A Day of Firsts

Even though this is my 18^th year of teaching it often feels like my first year, as I try new things to create an exciting learning environment for our students. This morning I introduced a new part of our morning routine, asking students to respond to a reflection question. Students wrote down what qualities he or she expected in a teacher. Discussing these qualities students shared with each individual child was a great way to connect and work on building our relationship. Many wanted teachers who were nice, funny, helpful, and had patience. Others wanted someone who was brave. I told each student if I did not live up to his or her expectation to please let me know. This is what makes me a better teacher!

We began our learning about our reading block today, discussing sustained silent reading (SSR). Our class discussed why people read, watching a great video of all different students sharing their story.

We also heard about Malcolm Mitchell’s experience with a book club.

After watching these videos and discussing why people read, students got to choose a book they wanted to read. I told them about the 5 Finger Rule of how to tell if a book is easy, just right, or challenging. Students took the 5 Finger Rule test and many were surprised to find the books they were reading were easy or just right for them. Students can read easy books or just right books. However when they choose books that are too challenging or always choosing books that are too easy, they are not growing as readers. I hope to explore all kinds of books with our students this year.

If you are on our class social media accounts you might have seen our first #postivesignthursday photos that were taken of students who had parent permission to be posted. This is one of the things I love most about Thursday! This simple photo is so powerful. We work to spread positive messages to our followers! 

We also spent some time discussing the district’s Responsible Use Policy. Using the K-7 Guidelines students began to understand what it means to be a responsible user of our technology. When your child comes home with this document I highly encourage you to discuss it with him or her. One of the most important things we talked about was T.H.I.N.K. before you post!

Opening student’s minds to how we use technology and what it means when we communicate with others using these tools is a vital lesson. Tomorrow our class will be doing our first Breakout EDU. I am excited to see how this learning experience encourages students to work together to solve a problem!