A New School Year!

So this Tuesday, I started another new school year! 28 fresh faces entered my classroom...or should I say...entered our classroom, because the classroom doesn't just belong to ME! So one fairly fresh teacher(THANK YOU SUMMER!)  is ready to take on a new year with new ideas! I have done a lot of reflecting over the last few months and have come up with some ideas that I really want to focus on this year. Some of the ideas are things that I loved from last year, some of the ideas are new ones that I have learned about in the past few months, and some are ideas that I have come up with on my own. 
Here are some of the things that I am looking forward to implementing this school year...

1. The new awesome website www.biblionasium.com

I am loving this site and I have JUST begun to tap into it. I heard about it just a couple of weeks ago and it looked like a great fit for my students. You set your class up on this site by uploading their names and their parent's email addresses. They will then receive a username and password to enter the site. The teacher and the students can set up a bookshelf with recommended books, favorites, required books, and wish list books. The site can also direct you to AMAZON to purchase any of the books. (there are parent controls for this as well.) The teacher can set up reading challenges and students can earn badges for completing certain tasks.  We are just getting started on this site, but it seems very promising and well thought out for teachers and students. 

2. Another site that I am going to utilize more this year is KidBlog.  I decided that when the students write about the books that they finish, I want them to have an authentic audience. I dabbled in this site last year, but didn't use it to its fullest potential. I would like to have students blog on our class site each time that they finish a book.  I am also going to 
encourage them to respond to 2 other posts each time they blog.  Over the years, students are always reluctant to write in their reading journals and turn them in after finishing a book, and I am hoping with 1-1 iPads and the availability of KidBlog, we can make their reading responses more authentic and exciting. 

3. I am going to use Google Drive to create Reading Notebooks.  I am trying to go digital this year! I saw a great pin on Pinterest that showed an idea for Reading Notebooks on Google Drive. I played around with this sumer and made a folder on Google Drive with other folders within the Reading Notebook folder. This is going to be a little challenging as most of my students will be new to Google Docs, but they are going to be experts before too long. 
This is what I am envisioning...

4.  Another tool that I use that is a non-negotiable for this year is Student Data Binders. I use data binders for students to set goals, track data, reflect on their learning, show growth, keep work samples, and store interest inventories.  I call them S.T.A.R. binders (Students Taking Academic Responsibility.) This week we have been filling out interest inventories and learning style inventories.  We will soon be goal setting and creating SMART goals. I love these binders and I encourage the students to share them often with their parents. I am starting to look into digital portfolios and how I can create these to complement our data binder. I found a site called Fresh Grade that looks promising and I am going to play around with it once we get our iPads. 

5. The biggest thing that I am going to KEEP in my classroom this year is Genius Hour. I started this last January and it was a HUGE success.  My students loved it and couldn't get enough. I had no idea what to expect and was blown away by their engagement and excitement. It was a wonderful way to integrate the 4 C's-critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. The students created projects that were beyond what I thought  was even possible. Websites, presentations, songs, movies, models, etc. Their enthusiasm for Genius Hour was mind blowing and with each passing week I was reminded of the importance of voice and choice. I can't wait to experience this with a new set of kiddos this year. 

6. The last thing that I want to improve upon is our Interactive Math Journals. I love these tools and I see a lot of value in these notebooks. I am going to add in some more metacognitive thinking and some more higher level thinking. I decided to focus on adding in 2 additional things...

Processing Questions:

1. What did we learn today?

2. How does what we learned today connect to or add to something we learned previously?

3. How can what we learned today help us in the real world?

Thinking Stems:

• The most important thing I learned today was…

• I would explain to an absent student what I learned today like this…

• I still don't understand…

• I first thought…but now I realize…

• I’m not sure…

• Another strategy I could have used …

• I will understand this better if I…

• Tomorrow I would like to …

• The easiest/most difficult part of the lesson was…

I'm anxious to see where all of these new ideas lead our class and to see how they contribute to student success. I'll keep you posted!