Are you feeling anxious about going back to school now that the holiday is winding down? I feel your pain!
My head used to swim with thoughts like...
**How do I fix all the issues I had first semester with classroom management, student participation, student learning, parent communication, etc.?
**How do I get the students back engaged after being out of school for two weeks?
**Where do I even start???
If you're thinking any of these things, I can help! Here are some tips for the New Year Reset:
1. Ease yourself and your students in gently. My favorite way to start an ELA class on day 1 in January is a writing prompt. Ask them to write about their break, but also provide another prompt option or two. Students with challenging home lives may not want to share about their break, so it's always good to be sensitive to that.
2. Once students have shared their writing either with a partner, small group, or the whole class, review the class rules and procedures. Treat it as if they are learning them for the first time. If you had issues with certain behaviors last semester, add in some new rules and procedures! Also, review your reward and consequence systems. Yes, middle schoolers need rewards to work towards and clear consequences for when they choose not to follow rules.
3. Have students do an activity with the rules and procedures. They could... make posters, act them out, make a game, design a crossword puzzle, write a story, etc. They could even choose from a menu of options.
4. Once you feel like a good review of expectations has been done, it's time to move back into the content. Assess where the students are as readers and writers and use this data as a benchmark for growth. I have a digital student interest survey that can be used at the beginning of the year, mid-year, and end of the year!
Click the image below to see more!
Now, you're ready for standards-based learning to resume! Back to studying author's purpose, argumentative writing, and alliteration! ;)
If you have any questions about the New Year reset, feel free to email me at talbertscurriculumcorner@gmail.com or reach out through any of my social media accounts!
Cheers,
<3Ms. T.
@Talbert's Curriculum Corner
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
Comments
Post a Comment