Weekend Update- Long Weekends are for More Work, Right?

Hey all! If you are anything like me you were not only longing for this 3-day weekend, you were ecstatic when it arrived! What did I have planned for this great weekend you ask? All of the usual of course: sleeping, watching Netflix, relaxing, reading books, and STAYING INSIDE! (It was a game weekend in my college town and I wanted nothing to do with the mix of crowds, chaos, and people.) Well now my weekend is coming to a close and what have I actually done?

Sleeping, Netflix, grocery shopping, newsletter, WBT newsletter, school week plan and prep, copies of homework, SIW update, book box organization, and center organization! And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.

My main focus this weekend involved getting information to my families. Some of this was in the form of our monthly newsletter (our first to be exact). This gives a month snapshot of all we hope to cover this month while also giving important dates and reminders.

The rest came to be with a new newsletter I am starting. Since I am starting some new practices this year with Whole Brain Teaching I need my families to know what we are doing in the room and why we are doing it. Cue our new newsletters.

While we have gotten into the groove of using many of the Whole Brain Teaching practices such as Class-Yes, Mirror, and the Scoreboard....I hadn't taken the leap and started the Super Improver Wall. This week, we take on that challenge.  If you are anything like me a couple months ago, you are asking "What is the Super Improver Wall?"  It looks gorgeous but what is its purpose, how does it work and how will students benefit from it?

The Super Improver Wall, or SIW from here on out, is a great tool that is used to chart and encourage student improvement on both academic and behavior goals. Students are "rewarded" for improvement and not just for academic performance. For example, students don't just earn owls, or marks, for passing tests or scoring a certain score. They get to mark an owl off when they have shown improvement. So a student who normally only scores 5/10 on their spelling test might have a goal of getting 8/10 while a student who consistently gets 10/10 on tests might have a goal that includes the use of bonus words or enrichment. Once students show that improvement they get cross out an owl. Goals are geared specifically towards individual students and relate to their academics or behavior needs.

To start, our class will all start by using a class goal. For us, we will all start by focusing on WBT Rule #1- Follow directions quickly, as well as Showing "ready". (Ready is always 1. Eyes forward 2.Voices Off and 3. Body to yourself.) This will apply whether we are in line or at our desks.

Notice that our teacher names are on the wall as well. It's important that students see their teachers are working towards improvement also. This will also help my intern and I establish our own goals. After students pass the first level by getting 10 owls they will get to take that card home and it will be replaced with a card of the next level color. Starting at level 2 individual student goals will be assigned and monitored. I can't wait to get started with this tomorrow!

Here's to happy activities, big gestures, and lots of improvement this week!