Activity

What a fun time we had this week in room 117!

To drive home the point of student centered learning as well as to show the value in honest discussion, I did a sticky note activity.  

Basically, each student was given seven sticky notes and an index card.   If you click on the image above, you can see more specific details/directions.   If you'd like the activity, comment and I'll try to get it to you.   I saw this online this summer and needed to tweak it for my particular population.

Anywhoo... students numbered each sticky note.   1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.   7.    There were then slides going up where students had to write a few words to fill in the "blank" on the slide.   Students then distributed the sticky notes and got into groups.   It was best to do evens and odds.   Students did manage to go to each "station" and they were to discuss their responses as well as the responses of the other sticky notes they saw.    We then gathered together as a whole group to discuss.

My room was buzzing with conversation and COLOR!

At the end of the activity, I asked students to give me an end of week reflection.   We had a great discussion about how sometimes you don't like a certain class because the class involves the skills you're weak in. 

This school year, our Super Intendent encouraged us to post #WhyITeach in our classrooms.   Our building administrators gave us the "bubble" to do so.

This is an initiative I was first introduced to via ECET2 and T2T.

First up... my reason for teaching:

I absolutely loved the discussion I had with my students regarding why they learn.   For the first week of school, I was impressed!  Discussion was deep!   I particularly enjoyed how we spoke of learning as a CHOICE.   I said they may "have to" go to school, but technically speaking, they do not have to learn.   They could put their head down all day and it may not end well, but learning is a choice.  Some learning happens naturally, but not all.   

One student made a point about wanting to have a job they enjoy.    They said they see their older cousin going to work and he absolutely hates what he does but he needs to make money.    This particular student wants to learn so that they have a job they benefit from on all levels, not just financially.