Rich Relationships
The first goal is to establish rich, trusting relationships between and amongst learning community members including families, students, educators, administrators, and community members. That requires deep observation, listening, and response.
Material Use and Understanding
The classroom is filled with awesome materials for learning, and the better students understand those materials, the better they can use those materials to support their learning. We'll spend a lot of time at the start of the year learning about the materials--where they are and how to use those materials. Related lessons include the following:
- How to use a calculator: Lessons in checking your work and numerical expressions
- Colored pencils and sharpies: Model making beginning with energy models, plant models, composting models
- Rulers: Number lines, accurate measuring for 3D model making
- Cube blocks: Introduction to volume and 3D figures
- Chromebooks: Three Words Project
- Graph Paper: Creating line plots, creating coordinate grids, name word finds
- Crossword Puzzle software: Math vocabulary
- That Quiz software: initial math warm-ups, practice with numerical expression
- Symphony Math software: math practice
I'm sure I'll add to this list as planning continues.
Classroom/School Protocols
We'll review the school rules/protocols list and evaluate our individual and collective abilities to follow those protocols and rules. We'll create protocol lists for the classroom--a classroom constitution to guide our studying and learning together. We'll post those protocols and revise as needed.
Healthy Classroom
We'll discuss the importance of health and think together about how we can be healthy throughout the year. Our efforts will include healthy time/equipment for play, healthy snacks, clean water, self care, and healthy relationships. If you're healthy, you're more capable of learning.
Social Relationships and Opportunities
We'll look for ways to support good friendships and social opportunities for all students. Some of our students last year were distanced from these opportunities, and our team wants to work with others to try to make better in this area.
Overarching Goals
I'll be explicit about the fact that this community has been created to help children learn as much as they can, and that good learning makes you a stronger, more capable person for the world--if you know how to learn and practice learning, you are better ready for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We'll talk about those important words, what those words mean, and where those words come from. I will let students know that I want to help them gain the mindsets, skills, and knowledge that helps them to have the best possible lives, I don't know exactly what that means for each of them, but I do know that if they're confident, capable of learning, and able to seek and utilize the supports available, they'll be well on their way to success and happiness. We will likely do some vision mapping related to this, mapping that helps children and me to understand who they are and what their dreams are now.
