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April 3, 2018

Re-Energizing Your School Year

Confessions of a Frazzled Teacher

Did you ever notice that some people are really cranky in April and May? The end of the school year is stressful. Students are definitely crazy! Summer Break is so close yet so far away. I'm not going to say that I never feel like this...I am only human! I do have a way that helps me Re-energize the School Year, so I can make the rest of the school year a positive one!

I use the time after Spring Break to experiment with trends, fads, and routines that I have heard about but don't have time to try throughout the year. For example, in the past I have tried CAFE lessons by The 2 Sisters, Google Classroom, Webquests, and self-selected math centers.

This year, I am looking at ways to really revamp my Guiding Reading groups. I have the lowest students this year. I know it's best practice to meet with your lower students everyday. The only problem with this is that ALL of my students were the lowest which is why they were in my class. Therefore, I set up my time to meet with all of my groups everyday. Unfortunately, due to time, I was never able to get deep into my reading groups. My goal for the rest of the year is to experiment with different schedules that can allow me to spend more time with my groups. This way I will have a better routine for next year.

Why Try Something New
It's easy to get stuck in a rut. While students need routines, they also need some time to try something new. Trying something new will allow you to find new strategies to use in the following school year but all the kinks will be worked out. It's a lot easier to try something new with a class that you have already built trust and routines. It's also something to look forward to each day.

Some Ideas to Try
I always have a million things that I would like to try in my classroom. If I tried all of these, I know they would fail, so I only pick one or two new things to try. If you are struggling to think of what you could try, choose one or two from the list below.

  • Guided Reading Groups
  • Math Centers
  • Google Classroom
  • Escape Room
  • Peer Mediators
  • Morning Meeting
  • Show and Tell
  • Literature Circles
  • Daily 5
  • Buddy Classes (Team up with another grade level for reading/math groups.)
  • Brain Breaks
  • Webquests
  • Guided Math
  • Fun Fridays
  • STEM Challenges
  • Project Based Learning
  • New Schedules (switching the time you teach subjects)
  • Augmented Reality
I hope you try something new. It will definitely help Re-energize Your School Year!

Are you going to try something new?
What are you going to try?

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