January 9, 2023 · curriculum
Gabby reading a book aloud to some third graders. Happy New Year (to everyone, but especially teachers who are welcoming students back from break!). Below are some routines to keep you afloat as we re-enter school and get through the winter together. Morning Meeting - the start of the day is everything. Bringing back a game they loved back in September (to them, and us! Feels like ages away) is like returning back to a nice friend you know well. Still fun, but predictable and no one has to be stressed about new rules. Reminding students of how far you have come from the beginning of the year when you were all learning these new routines (and each other’s names!). Read aloud! (after returning from recess or lunch, preferably) Starting the New Year with a new read aloud book if it lands there for you is very helpful to us. Catching ourselves (and our students) into a story is always a
new yearroutinesresponsive classroomWinter
September 1, 2022 · back to school
Back to school read aloud with a detailed roadmap on the board behind me. Happy Back to School! I know many schools are starting early this year, so if you already started school, congratulations on making it through the first day/week(s)! The first couple weeks are always so incredibly draining. I am not in a classroom this fall for the first time in many years so I am missing the first day anticipation and exhaustion! I’ve always loved setting up my classroom and writing students’ names on everything. Usually, I join my students in writing a letter to myself on the first day of school. It’s always fun to look back on and be surprised about your assumptions, emotions, thoughts, fears, and hopes. I also have shifted to asking students to share a moment of joy or deliciousness instead of something they did this past summer. It’s more inclusive and avoids isolating students who didn’t
back to schoolbeginning of the school yearresponsive classroom
August 20, 2020 · games
From Social Emotional Workshop 2016 Games, brain breaks, Morning Meeting activities, and community building exercises are a vital part of learning in our 3rd grade classroom. I’ve (Nina) been thinking a lot about how we can continue to incorporate games and brain breaks even when teaching over video or while staying six feet apart. Here are some of the ideas we came up with - Gabby is the game genius, so I asked her to help me brainstorm! We came up with two lists, which are below. I tried to link to a description or provide it myself unless it seems really self-explanatory, but if anything is not clear, please comment below and we will give you more details. On live video (Zoom, Google hangouts, etc) Keep in mind that a whiteboard with names or teams behind you where you can show them their points and keep updating it or keep track of rounds, etc. will help many of these! Also,
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October 26, 2018 · curriculum
A snapshot of our “contract wall” showcasing some student art! As we near the end of October and my school has its Fall round of conferences with families, I was recently pleased to notice how many of my students use the language of our class contract (rules for our class) in their reflections about how the year is going for them. Creating our contract was a multi-step process starting with a read aloud and ending with a signed contract and accompanying art projects (and of course a shared understanding about the kind of community we want to create). We started with a read aloud (always a wonderful place to start!). Our first chapter book read aloud of the year is Save Me a Seat by Gita Varadarajan and Sarah Weeks . We read a few chapters and a day and do a variety of responses to our reading to help us empathize with the characters. The main characters’ negative experiences at school
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August 13, 2018 · conferences
Posters we made about children's developmental stage at different ages. This past week, I had the opportunity to attend a Responsive Classroom Course for Elementary Educators. I was introduced to Responsive Classroom in college as part of my elementary educator training, but it was wonderful (as always) to engage with other teachers and have some valuable review and even more important reminders. Some things I took away and am still thinking about are: Yardsticks (Child and Adolescent Development Ages 4-14) by Chip Wood: I love this resource! We give out the 3rd grade related pamphlets to families at back to school night, and the book is a great gift for new parents (of 4 year olds and up). Asking what is developmentally appropriate for a specific age is always a good question and a great place to start. This information is so valuable for so many reasons. If something in your class
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