I have to say, I was nervous for no reason but if I hadn't felt nervous then I would have attributed anything that went wrong to a lack of preparedness and my overconfidence. I teach 6 classes but teach 3 block classes which means that I see my students every day for 2 hours because I am their English and Reading teacher. That means I only have to remember 75 names and I am lucky enough to get to know my students more than a teacher that only has their students for a single subject (in my opinion). This year I am teaching 10th grade and last year I taught some 9th grade classes so I am also fortunate enough to have some of my students for a second year. I have to say, so far I am pretty impressed by my students. For the most part, they are respectful, hard-working, and have even managed to make me laugh a few times already.
This year, we changed our school schedule as well as our lunch schedule which amounts to mass confusion during the first week of school for everyone. As a result, I didn't want to overwhelm my students with a ton of English and Reading assignments because they tend to not enjoy those subjects and I figured mass chaos would be a good time to take advantage of getting to know my students. On the first day I had my students complete a Student Information Sheet, Reading Survey, and Learning Styles Inventory. They broke into groups (based on their Learning Style) and received a sheet with tips to help them study throughout the year. Then they discussed their tips in groups.
My favorite part of the first day of school lesson was an idea I had seen on Pinterest which was intended for elementary school. I modified the idea to fit my needs and the results completely exceeded my expectations. It was much better than any Student Inventory I had seen. Plus, the results will hang in my classroom year-long as a reminder to myself and my students of the goals we had set in the beginning of the year.
What you'll need:
-3 pieces of chart paper (I prefer the Post-It ones)
-Enough Post-It's for each student to have 3
-Markers
-A designated area in the room to hang the chart papers
I came up with 3 unique questions on my own. I picked these 3 questions because I actually wanted to know what my student's answers would be:
-What do you need to learn or work on to be successful in Reading and English?
-How can Ms. Makowski help you to be successful this year?
-Set 3 goals that you want to accomplish this school year.
I was very careful about how I worded the questions because I wanted my students to feel like they had the freedom to write about whatever they felt but at the same time, keep their answers directed. I told my students that the 3 goals could be about anything ranging from my class to a team they are on to something that is not even related to school
When school was over, I was so excited to read the answers on each chart. I was very impressed and surprised. Plus, I felt like I learned some really good information and whenever I lose sight of the goal or need inspiration I can go and look at my student's answers. Here are some of my favorites:
Set 3 goals for this school year.
How can Ms. Makowski help you?
I think I'll be able to use this same method throughout the school year for many different things. As a matter of fact, I've already found another way to incorporate Post-It's into my classroom. I have added a "What Stuck?" element to the dry erase board in the back of my classroom. This dry erase board is where I post the Daily Objective, Homework and Classwork assignments, Important Information, and student field trip dates. "What Stuck?" is going to be used as an exit ticket on Friday's. Students will receive a Post-It at the end of the lesson to write down one thing that they learned from the lesson that will stick with them from now on.
Again, I was impressed by the results. Students were eager to post their answers and the answers ranged from things we had discussed on Monday all the way until that day's lesson. I was able to determine whether or not my students had retained information from the week. I think in the future I might also create a place for students to post questions that they still have (a "parking lot" but I want to come up with a different name). I am already working on a place for student's to post examples of figurative language when they find them in their independent reading novels.
How do you use Post-It's in your classroom?
