Routine…

I’ve realized over these last few years how crucial routine is in my classroom. I’ve achieved this by trying to get scheduled in the same room regularly, but that’s not always possible. However, every room has a board and I use it in the same way for every lesson – as an agenda for inquiry.

Students walk in and see the board and they know what the plan is…for the most part. This can calm nervousness about what to expect and it often answers questions that come up at the beginning of the lesson. “Miss, are we going to…” or “Miss, can we have time to…” I still get those questions, but students often can answer those themselves by checking out the board on the way in. This gives me time to take attendance and answer questions that can’t be answered by the board.

Finally, the board format gives us a chance to reflect and close out the lesson. What didn’t get done? Why? What do we need to work on?

It’s not SWBAT, but in some ways it serves the same purpose with an MYP inquiry twist.

*whispers* I’m still here…

Somewhere between my last post and today, I became a teacher.

I truly settled into my role (and some new roles!). I’ve developed my own routines and methods. I feel confident in many of my approaches, though I’m always adjusting and developing new ones. But I’m at that stage in my teaching (approaching 10 years!) where I no longer feel like the pre-service teacher grasping for a hold on how to do this incredible job. My teacher presence on social media – including this blog – went dark for a while as I hunkered down and focused on the day to day business of educating. But I’ve been feeling the urge to revive this space and use it for what I originally intended: reflective sharing.

So…here I am.