Students creating their learning environment on the first day in year 6. #pypchat #LISlearning #firstdayofschool. #essentialagreements - Twitter Search. G5 @vislaopdr are wondering...What do you believe about #learning ? cc @glennlawler @McGeeJane. G5 @vislaopdr are wondering...What do you believe about #learning ? cc @glennlawler @McGeeJane. Putting kids in the center from day 1 #pypchat @WAB_LIVE. 10 things to do on the first day of school… – What Ed Said. A new school year is about to begin in Australia.
It’ll be the first time in nearly 30 years that I don’t have a class to teach and it’s not an easy adjustment! For as long as I can remember, I have started the year by planning the first day for my new classes. Reflecting on all those new beginnings, I realise how much teaching and learning have changed… and how much I have changed. Why the first week of school needs to be rigorous – Education to Save the World. Ask students and they’ll tell you: the first week of school is a throw-away.
Yesterday, I interviewed a group of kids nearing the end of their summer camp experience about the start of a new school year. When I asked, “What are you expecting from the first week back?” The overwhelming response was that the first week is usually pretty boring, a mix of syllabus and textbook orientations with get-to-know-you name games sprinkled in. One student told me, “Last year, we learned how to sharpen pencils and go to the bathroom. Really, we did that!” Why do we do these things? Instead, let’s consider ways we could use our first impression to show kids that this will be a place full of intellectual rigor, perseverance, and risk-taking. Consider the texts below and see if they spark any ideas. First day of school activities. 3 Non-Ice Breaker Things to Do the First Week of School. I always wonder how students felt about doing the ice breaker activities I had planned for them.
How I asked them on the very first day to let loose, lighten up, and live a little. How some of them seemed to light up while some barely went through the motions, no amount of coaching from me helping them. And some just stood there mortified. I figured a little embarrassment didn’t hurt them that much. 10 Back-to-School Icebreaker Games – HonorsGradU. Icebreakers aren’t just fun–they can play an essential role in helping your students become comfortable with each other at the beginning of and throughout the school year.
They also have serious potential for team-building, bonding, and concentration! This is a tried-and-true list of beloved games, especially suitable for upper elementary and older grades. 7/28/15: As you make plans on how to use this list, check out my follow-up post: Icebreakers: A Learning Moment & Follow-Up Game of Whiz: Description: This icebreaker is sure to help everyone get comfortable with each other and have fun as they play with sound effects. Instructions: Everyone stands in a circle facing each other.Pick a person for the first turn.
Winning: Teaching the Teacher. A busy first day.
Answering the binary question. The children spent time introducing an object from the class and their connections to the object. After each child told their story, they would volunteer to go next when they felt they had a connection with another child. Over the week the children will add to their connection map. A photo scavenger hunt . Crafting an essential agreement. Re-thinking the start of the year – what would you do differently? My Student Questionnaire for Beginning of Year. 10 tips for creating a class agreement… – What Ed Said. Do a quick google image search for ‘classroom rules’ and ‘classroom agreements’ (or ‘essential agreements’ as they’re called in the PYP) and see if anything surprises you… What I noticed is that, despite the heading, many classroom agreements are still lists of rules.
Do teachers value compliance above learning? These are amongst the most common elements I found, none of which seem to relate to learning... Work quietly.Raise your hand to speak.Listen carefully.Follow instructions.Do your best work.Don’t speak until called on.Be punctual. First impressions and the inquiry classroom… Who owns the learning? – What Ed Said. I talk a lot about relinquishing control to learners, but do I always practice what I preach?
I’m a second language teacher. I think I have to explain more than I do. In the context of second language, I tend to like to make sure my students ‘get it’ before letting them do something with it! When we talked about ways in which teachers keep control of learning, one of the kids said ‘Teachers over explain. Who owns the learning? – What Ed Said. Essential agreement… – What Ed Said. In a PYP school, every working group (teachers or students) starts off by creating an ‘essential agreement’.
In the classroom, this means that, rather than teachers imposing rules, everyone works collaboratively to establish an agreement of how the class will function. Today Jocelyn and I developed our class essential agreement. We started by asking the children to consider carefully and then write down what helps them learn and what hinders their learning. The next step was to share with a partner and find the things they had in common. Later we brought back a list of all the things they had written and, in groups, the students highlighted those they saw as most important for a class essential agreement which will maximise learning for everyone. The wordle shows the key words from the students’ original list of what helps them to learn.
PYP Key Concept: Function. Like this: Like Loading...