Mrs. S and I have 21 students in a 2/3 split and the first day they were pretty good. They actually read, on task and quiet, for 25 minutes straight, which amazed the teacher. She was planning on about 10 or 15 minutes, but they did great! Mrs. S kept they moving from one thing to the next and introduced routines a little at a time. She advised me not to try to do everything on the first day!
The idea I loved was that my teacher invites both the parents and students to write her a letter before school starts. (They send out placement letters the week before school starts and she includes info about it then.) She let me read all of them. Many of the parents thanked her for asking about their child. I was amazed by the insights some of them had. One parent talked about how her child had ADHD, but was so much more than just that label and gave us some good insight into dealing with him. I also loved the student letters telling something they did over the summer or a favorite food or activity. I thought these letters served many purposes. It started a sense of community with the families and showed students that their teacher wanted to know them as a person. Mrs. S asked parents not to help the kids so it was a good sample of their own writing too. Mostly, it helped us get to know a little about each child so we could connect with them on the first day.
Thursday 9/3
Today we started to see some student groupings that were not good for learning. Mid-day Mrs. S assigned carpet spots (tape with names where they should sit) to help kids better pay attention. It seemed to help as they were more attentive during the read aloud at the end of the day. She also moved some desks to make better neighbors for students who were being distracted.
I also liked how Mrs. S wasn't afraid to change her lesson plans. Coming back from recess someone in our class was handed a "golden ticket" so right away she took the opportunity to explain the Peacebuilders program that it was part of, even though she had not planned on it that day. She also changed her reading lesson from what was planned because the kids didn't need what she was going to teach, readers read the whole time, since they read for 25 minutes straight the first day. Instead she pulled the lesson forward from the next day. Flexibility seems to be key in the classroom, with Mrs. S constantly adjusting to students needs and what happens during the day. I hope this is something I will be able to emulate.
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