Day 19 – So Much Learning

I love learning. I love learning new things I can bring into my classroom. Today was the best day for that. It was the 101st Teachers’ College Saturday Reunion. It a day open to all teachers that is filled with so many learning opportunities – all for free. It happens twice a year and for the last two has been virtual. While I enjoy being in my pajamas and drinking my coffee in bed as I learn, I do enjoy my treks to the city.

What am I going to try and do on Monday?

• Re-evaluate my community of learners – what does learning look like in my classroom? Is there intellectual curiousity? How can I make sure all students are active learner?
• Re-introduce my students to writing and reading partnerships. Students will work as coaches for each other as they are working through the new units.
• Increase the independence of the writers in my class by setting goals and developing work plans.
• Increase the amount of talk in order to bolster academic skills. I need to grow the talk in my classroom.
• Use short films to introduce literary essays. This should be a fun way to think about characterization and big ideas and themes.

Stay tuned next week as I write about the different things I try out.