Ms. M. is having a really cool linky party over at her blog Ms. M's Blog. She actually posted it on the 4th of July (hence the cute graphic below)..but I just came across it and thought it was super cool so, here I go....
Here's the deal...head over to her blog, grab the graphic, go back to your blog, post about 4 things you are going to try in your classroom for the first time this year...then go back to her blog and link up. Simple..yes..c'mon what else are you doing on a Sunday night (okay, I am going to watch Army Wives and RHONJ after this....)
Here are my 4 things....
1. Class Dodo- I was introduced to this last year through one of the blogs I read (can't remember which one, sorry). I played around with it, and even showed it to my students but i never really did anything with it. Now that I am looping up to 5th grade with my class, I feel like I need to do something different with them. I have used the color clip chart in the past and that works great, but I think this would really get them to buy into a classroom behavior management system. Plus I can use mobile technology like my cell phone or my NEW iPad to access it...like when I am working with a small group and kids are not behaving!!!
2. Interactive Notebooks- I came across this last year while searching for some new ideas for social studies. I love the idea that kids are using these to not only take note,but to respond the subject matter with their own thoughts and graphics. I am in the process of learning the 5th grade curriculum for Social Studies..it is all new to me since I have never taught 5th before. SO this will be a good way for me to asses if they are "getting it" and look for areas I need to tweak. There are ton of examples and resources out there (I found quite a few on Pinterest alone).
3. Edmodo- I am a huge technology geek (in case you have not figured that out already)...I have began blogging with my class last year and this year our new thing is going to be Edmodo. It is like Facebook for the classroom. I love that it is so user friendly and I thin my students will love thinking they are playing when they will really be learning. I am definitely building some serious computer time into my schedule each day and I am hoping to get a set block of time to use one of our school's two computer labs. I have 4 laptops in my classroom and will be adding an iPad (maybe two) this fall. However, I will also be teaching 2 classes of 20 students so I will need to use the lab to get them maximum use time. Want to use Edmodo but not sure how you can use it in your classroom? Click HERE for some great ideas...
4. Whole Brain Teaching- I went to a conference earlier this summer and one of the sessions was about Whole Brain teaching. I was blow away!! I wished school was about to start right then so I could try this out....(but then I decided not to wish my summer away, lol). The thing I like about WBT strategies is that you can use one, several or all f them and you are going to see results. These are both classroom management strategies and teaching strategies. There are even specific strategies/activities for improving reading and math scores. Check out the WBT website HERE, but also watch the video below:
Okay, so maybe I will be biting off more than I can chew...but I am excited....stay tunes for my blog, because you know I'll be blogging about it!!!
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