Meet Courtney. A passionate, fun-loving, 5th grade Humanities Teacher. She is one of those special teachers that make you feel motivated and inspired. Her motto is "striving for excellence" which she does day in and day out. Tonight we met for tea, coffee, and books. Even though it was a fairly short visit, her words of teacher wisdom poured like sweet summer rain. I was reminded of several "good teaching" practices such as the importance of meeting with students during the first two weeks of school to talk about their reading life and the power of focused strategy groups and one-to-one conferences during reading and writing workshop. It was refreshing to hear the ways in which she weaves student voice throughout her lessons and the ways that she fosters a collaborative climate in her classroom, school, and district. She says that her sole purpose is to make every one of her students readers for life, but I see her positive influence transforming teachers for life. Below are 3 easy to implement ideas inspired by Courtney. I plan on using every single one of these. I hope they inspire you, too! Teacher Sketchbook Anchor charts are teachers best friends. Sometimes we can get caught up in creating cutesy charts that the actual content can be confusing instead of helpful to our students. Courtney is a detailed oriented person and thorough in her thinking. In the past, this would cause her to focus on "stuff" that didn't matter when teaching and would make her miss the meat of the content. She knew she needed something to help her with anchoring her charts to student learning. "When I deliver a message, I want to be so specific and concise with my students." One strategy that has helped her align her charts to the specific content and standards is creating a teacher sketchbook. A teacher sketchbook is literally a sketchbook with mini anchor charts. She decides which anchor charts to create, chooses the right colors and design, and creates a mini version of the one she will create with her students. This serves to not only guide her instruction, but she also refers back to it when making "re-watch and re-learn" videos at home. These short videos recap on information covered that day which she shares via Google Classroom and on her website. Some of her take away tips include using the same color for the titles of the charts so students can easily recognize the title when they see it. She also recommends using borders around the anchor charts. This draws students' attention to the message of the text. Teacher Mail Courtney understands the importance of student voice and creating an environment where students feel safe. "We need a school culture where we feel comfortable telling each other things." This year she is using teacher mail inspired by @upperelementaryadventures to receive feedback and messages from her students. This is a great way to encourage student input and provides a safe avenue for students to share things in writing that they otherwise would not feel comfortable sharing. Using her Cricut, she created an adorable vinyl label and put it on a mailbox that she picked up from Joanne Fabrics. She found these "teacher mail" templates for students to use. Get them free here: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/T-Mail-Teacher-Mail-FREEBIE-2615763 I absolutely love this! I can't wait to check my mail! Observe Me Movement Feedback and reflection is the key to continuous growth and improvement. Courtney understands this. "I work in a building with other successful educators, and I value their feedback." This year she is taking part in the #ObserveMe movement where educators place a simple sign outside of their doors inviting colleagues in to their classrooms to observe and provide feedback. A QR code takes the observer to a Google Form where they can provide comments. Courtney and I both see the transformative power of feedback and reflection. It holds us accountable to the content and the level of standard of teaching. My school participates in CORE visits which is very similar to the ObserveMe movement where groups of teachers visit their fellow colleagues' classrooms and provide feedback throughout the year. To learn more about or join the movement, go here: robertkaplinsky.com/observeme/ I hope you find these ideas inspiring and are just as excited as I am to begin using them in your own classroom. Thank you Courtney for sharing all of your ideas and passion with us!
Remember... Never Stop Learning!
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AuthorHi! I'm Karen - a passionate educator dedicated to learning, growing, and sharing! Thanks for stopping by! Archives
August 2018
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