Well we made it through our first week of school. It was great to see some of our returning second graders now in our third grade classroom. The beginning of the year is always slow because we are establishing classroom routines. As much as this drives us nuts, we know how critical it is to have an effective classroom where our students can eventually run the room. However, we did do a few fun things.
Last week we mentioned that we were going to be trying an infographic project with the kids so they could share information about their summer vacation. We weren't sure how successful this project would be because it was our first stab at it. The kids loved it, and we were pleasantly surprised at the success of it. We were amazed at their creativity and how they organized their information. There were infographics arranged sequentially, web-like, cyclical, most favorite to least favorite, and in a flow chart. We will definitely revisit infographics throughout the year, most likely varying the medium through which the information will be conveyed.
Our buzzing is up and running. The kids loved getting into small groups to talk about the books they read at home last night. We know this program will motivate our students to read more books. In fact, even today students were eager to read a book they heard about from someone else. From the get-go we want the students to know that reading is thinking. We began our chart and kept their task simple for today. They needed to discuss their favorite part of the book, explain why it was their favorite part (which is the real thinking part), and show it.
Another new activity we tried this year was a Would You Rather game, in place of our People Search, to get to know each other. We found a picture book on Amazon called Would You Rather by John Burningham. It was hysterical. Then the kids played the game. We found it on Teachers Pay Teachers.
We look forward to another fun-filled week after a much needed holiday weekend. Happy Labor Day!
Kim and Anne
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