Welcome back to another year in school. I consider the Tuesday after fair break to be the second First Day of School! The kids thought I was a little crazy until I explain.
The days up until fair break gave me an opportunity to learn about them and their abilities. Everyone is still on their best behaviors, pencils are shiny and they are excited to show what they can do. Until we get into the school building I often don't know what technology is really working. I learned so much about the kids that some of them showed animals at the fair, others were excited to be spending the time with family and friends. The Tuesday after fair break allows me to get into the content without feeling that I did not give the kids ample time to show me who they are. Now that we are back, tech issues are on the mend. I was able to get everyone into +Schoology and also into their Google Accounts. Both made me happy.
Over break I spent some time looking at the information the kids provided me the first days. I asked 2 essential questions:
1. What do you need from me as a teacher to be successful?
2. What are you looking forward to learning about in ___________ class? (I teach iPad 6 and 7, Reading, English, and Math)
I loved how honest they were when answering the questions. Some answered that they wish the teachers would read material to them to "sometimes we just need a break". What I realized is that I needed to do a better job celebrating my student's success. With that idea I created a hallway Twitter wall. Right now we are using the #success for the students to write about some of the things they are happy they have been successful at. I can't wait to see what people post about. I don't only want it to be students but also the adults around them. It is important that we model for the students that we can celebrate little successes.
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