So the first three days are over and I've made it to the other side. I think I did a pretty good job this year of REALLY REALLY (yes, really) going over my expectations for my class and how my students should act as 7th graders in general. I am hoping that this eliminates as much bad behavior as possible. But only time will tell.
DAY 1:
The first day I introduced myself and had the kids sign up for Remind101. Some classes got through this quicker than others, so I started doing a tour of the room and discussing classroom procedures. In our intervention period, we discussed ways we can motivate the kids and they came up with a list, which was actually pretty practical. This surprised all 3 teachers because we were expecting answers like we will be motivated if you build us a swimming pool. But everything they came up with was actually a do-able reward which was cool :)
DAY 2:
Today, I really got into my classroom procedures, how the students should act, and my classroom procedures. I acted out some wrong behaviors and had students tell me what should be done instead. They seemed to really like this! We also discussed the interactive notebooks and what the difference between them and a regular notebook is. I showed them examples from last year (I asked some 8th graders if I could borrow them to show the new 7th graders what they will be making) This was very effective because they were able to see exactly how they will work and what they will look like, where last year I didn't have any samples.
DAY 3:
I still wasn't ready to get into my math lessons because I wanted to ensure my students knew how this classroom was going to operate and what was expected of them (plus it was Friday, so I wanted to do something fun) so I planned an activity for them and then I taught what I told them was their first lesson of 7th grade math. The activity dealt with my classroom expectations. I told them these were typically called rules, but I don't like calling them rules, because I feel there is a negativity associated with the word "rule" so I choose to call them expectations, as in these are just simple tasks the students are expected to do. Everyone was given a copy of "In our math classroom I..."(I modified something I found on pinterest) and I asked them to read over it silently and then pick the expectation they thought they had the most trouble with last year. Then I told them to find someone near them and brainstorm ways to fix this problem. If they were sitting there thinking I'm golden on all these, I don't need any help, I asked them to identify what they thought another 7th grader might have trouble with and give them tips. After about 10 mintes (every group was having really good discussions and coming up with really interesting ideas) we came back together as a class and made a really good list of tips. I told them they had to pick their number 1 idea for each expectation and write it under that expectation. Then we taped it into our MIN on the back of the front cover so they will see these expectations and tips every time they open their MIN. :)
Next came their first lesson of 7th grade math. This actually didn't have anything to do with 'math' per say, but more about how their math class will work. I have adopted the quote "Fair isn't always equal" as a motto in my classroom. I first heard this at a differentiated instruction conference by Rick Wormeli last spring and it has stuck with me ever since. I am really going to try to differentiate this year so that I can meet the needs of ALL of my students. While my kids were working on their class expectations activity, I taped two candy bars really high up on the wall. After we finished the expectation discussion, I told the class I needed a volunteer. Everyone saw me tape the candy bars up to the wall so everyone's hands went up. I picked a really tall kid and told him/her that if they could reach the candy bar, it was theirs. They excitedly ran up to the wall, some jumped and others just reached for the candy bar, but each of the first volunteers in each period were able to easily grab it. The all tried to give it back to me thinking I wasn't really telling them the truth that they would get to keep it, but I said, "No, no, you were able to get it, it's yours!" Everyone freaked out and now I totally had the complete attention of EVERY. KID. IN. THE. ROOM. =) I then asked for a second volunteer and again, every hand went up. I picked one of the shortest kids in the class and they went up and started jumping as high as they could to try and reach the candy bar. They asked if they could get a chair and I promptly explained, no you can't because I wouldn't be treating you and volunteer #1 equally. I didn't give volunteer #1 a chair so giving volunteer #2 a chair wouldn't be right. What happened next was pure magic in each of my classes...volunteer #2 sadly said ok and acted like they were just going to give up and go back to their seat but the rest of the class adamantly defended volunteer #2 saying I wasn't treating him/her fairly because they couldn't help it that they either needed the candy bar lowered or needed to use a chair. (which is precisely what I was trying to get at) I told volunteer #2 that if the class could convince me to give them a chair, they could have one and the candy bar would be theirs. The class then started giving the student numerous compliments (which was so cool and something I didn't expect) and they also threw in parts about needing the chair and it's ok if he/she needs extra help because that's what's fair. I told volunteer #2 to get a chair and they were able to get the candy bar. Everyone cheered and then I concluded the lesson saying something along the lines of "In this classroom I will ALWAYS treat you fairly. We are all on different levels (heights) when it comes to math and that's perfectly fine. As we go get further into this year, I will learn what you as a person and learner specifically need to be successful. So when I ask you to stay after class, come to hound help, or give groups of you different assignments, I don't want to hear 'that's not fair' because just like in this lesson when you wanted me to treat them fairly not equally, and give volunteer #2 a chair, it IS FAIR because what wouldn't be fair would be to expect every one of you to do the exact same thing on the first try." I made a basketball analogy about going into the gym demonstrating a 3 point shot, giving each of them 5 minutes to practice, and then giving them their test: make it: pass, miss it: fail. "Would that be fair?" the kids screamed no way! "So when I tell some of you to make test corrections or to redo an assignment, I am asking you to do so because you need more practice in order to be successful. I know that with your dedication, along with mine, you will be successful in 7th grade and in math class, so I just have 2 questions for you. Does this concept make sense, and are you ready to start on this adventure called learning?" I'm not sure how long this lesson will last with them, but all that mattered in that moment was that I heard lots and lots of enthusiastic "YES's!":) Hopefully their first lesson of 7th grade math made an impact on them!
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