The First Six Weeks of School

I LOVE the Responsive Classroom approach. My curriculum director was kind enough to send me to Responsive Classroom I AND Responsive Classroom II in Columbus. RC is a week-long institute during which you are able to work with grade-level colleagues. An RC professional teaches you certain concepts and allows you to put yourself in the place of the student who is learning in an RC environment. During RC I, we focused on Morning Meeting, Take a Break, and Interactive Modeling. During RC II, we learned about Guided Discovery, Teacher Language, and Academic Choice.

I feel like I have purchased nearly all of the books published by the NEFC (Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc.), but that's only because they have so many valuable resources -- For example, The First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete. I love how they focus on community-building and modeling appropriate behavior BEFORE getting into the academics. It really lays the foundation of expectations and allows for more seamless teaching for the rest of the year.
I have used the Responsive Classroom for two years, and I have seen that it works. 

Anyway, I'll hop off my soap box now, and focus on what I really wanted to write about for this blog entry: The First Six Weeks of School. This book is a must-have for first year teachers and a wonderful gift for veterans. It's an easy read because you don't have to go through the book word-for-word, cover-to-cover. For example, I just need the Primary Grade (K-2) chapters. 

Today, I started off reading Week One for the Primary Grades (K-2). They give a wonderful overview of what week one should look like across the grade levels. Then, it lays out a sample schedule of what it should look like in the primary grades - even going so far as to add the names of games and songs that are included in the appendix. After the sample schedule, the authors talk about, in detail, the different parts of your day - from what Morning Meeting looks like in week one to guided discovery of basic school supplies. You might be thinking (much like I was when I first learned about Interactive Modeling and Guided Discovery), "Second graders already know how to use a pencil and crayons." And you're right... to a certain extent. Kids have (hopefully) been using pencils and crayons for YEARS. However, they haven't used them in YOUR room under YOUR expectations. Maybe you prefer that they keep their crayons in their cubby, but last year's teacher wanted crayons kept in desks. This is your opportunity to set your expectations of how students should retrieve, use, and put away basic school supplies. You might also think, "Pencil sharpeners are self-explanatory. You just put the pencil in." Then, in October, your kids are driving you crazy telling you the sharpener is jammed, the shavings collector is full, or that their pencil just won't sharpen. These things could be avoided if the students are trained how to use the sharpener in the first place. These first six weeks of school is exactly the time for these discovery times. 

I would like to follow this Sample Schedule a little more closely this year. I tend to just "jump into" Morning Meeting and end up cutting various components to fit my schedule. One thing I have been learning about the Common Core Standards is that it requires students be able to speak (or write) wisely on a variety of topics. I am also finding that certain (usually low-income) students have very little conversational experiences at home. So why was I cutting the "Sharing" aspect of Morning Meeting? Students need to be able to communicate with one another intelligently, and these skills aren't always taught and learned at home. Morning Meeting is a perfect time to teach and hone these skills. Including shared readings of poems and songs also encourage literacy skills that are taught throughout the day. Why not incorporate them into Morning Meeting? 

Establishing rules and routines of when to become silent and how to ask to go to the restroom are crucial. I love using a music wand chime to call for silence and attention. It sure beats raising my voice or crossing a room to turn out the lights. I learned from my student teaching cooperating teacher an awesome bathroom signal. When I am not teaching, students go to where the passes hang, choose the appropriate pass (boy or girl), lift it and wait for my signal. I nod or shake my head. If I nod, the student places the pass on their desk and goes to the restroom. This works so well because no words are exchanged. Also, if I'm wondering where Johnny is, I will see the pass on his desk, and know right away where he has gone. Something I noticed, however, is that certain students used the restroom as an avoidance of things they didn't like. For example, I had a student who HATED writing. I did everything I (and my colleagues) knew to help him, but he still wanted to avoid writing. Also, when students got "bored" during Read to Self, they would try using the restroom, and then their friend would watch closely to see when they got back and were ready to meet them at the door to hold up the pass. This is something I will be working to correct this year, but the original bathroom pass routine works well and my students pick it up quickly because of Interactive Modeling. 

Lastly, allowing students to illustrate their hopes and dreams for the year is something I have skipped. I really think that I lost something valuable because I didn't do it. Students are able to think about the coming months of school and decide what they most want to accomplish. I've always done a brainstorm, but this year, I hope to have them draw the picture AND write a sentence explaining their hopes and dreams. TA-DA! Built-in writing assessment for the beginning of school!

I realize this has been a long post, but what are some of the things you do during the first week of school?