New Year, New Way

I spent the summer poring over Pinterest (for teaching ideas, I swear!). One of the areas in which my students need the most work is basic organizational skills. I really like the strategies and activities that many of my AVID teacher coworkers use, particularly the idea of using binders and regular binder checks. I also adore the idea of interactive notebooks. I’m still working out how to tailor this to a highly structured ELD curriculum and a variety of language functions and tasks. (In each of my classes, we cover vocabulary, grammar, writing, speaking skills, group collaboration, etc.) Traditionally, it seems that interactive notebooks are done in composition books, but I really prefer the flexibility of using three-ring binders.

Thanks to an angel in the office, I was able to procure 156 three-inch binders. Not only did I get binders, but each one also came fully stocked with divider tabs and a pencil pouch replete with pencils, pens, highlighters and an eraser! Score! :-D

At this point, I plan on requiring the students to keep the notebook much like I have my university students keep theirs. We have an area for class information (syllabus, schedule, etc.) and separate sections for each topic covered over the course of the semester. I think this will actually work out really well for my kiddos. Plus, they will feel pretty grown up when I tell them it’s the same format for my “big students” too.

Another area in which we (the kids and I) need to work is tightening up the rules and procedures so we don’t waste even a moment of instructional time. Even the good days last year weren’t as fine-tuned as I would have liked. I created a list of procedures as an addendum to my syllabus. In it, I outline the procedure for each and every task throughout the day. Although this might seem like overkill for middle schoolers, last year my kiddos struggled with basics like staying in the classroom and not sharpening pencils when I was talking…). I think if I outline everything now, it’ll make the year go much more smoothly.

Additionally, I discovered the concept of Whole Brain Teaching and it seems like an amazing option. It involves some routines and rules that engage different parts of the brains and caters to students of varying learning modalities. They even have information on working with particularly challenging students. Plus, all the materials are free on their website, including videos and ebooks! Here’s the link: http://WholeBrainTeaching.com/

I also found some inspiration on YouTube (via Pinterest, of course) in the form of videos of the entire first few days of school in a high school LA classroom. The teacher is absolutely fantastic. He’s young and occasionally acts goofy with the kids, but has complete and utter control of his class. As a neuro-linguistics nerd, I totally appreciated the subtle language cues he uses to reinforce what he’s saying.  His hypnotic patter was amazing! Dude, if you’re out there reading this, will you marry me? Or can I at least pick your brain for more management ideas? ;)

Anyway, I modeled my first week activities after what I saw in his videos. Take a look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgk-719mTxM

My final goal/resolution for the new school year is NO MORE YELLING. I did far less yelling by the end of the year once the students’ behavior was more under control, but it’s really not in my nature to raise my voice to kids. I think by locking in those procedures, expectations early on, I’m well on my way to achieving that goal. Fingers crossed!