Today was absolutely magical! To motivate the students to learn their multiplication facts, we had "Level Up Day!" Our amazing room parents went above and beyond with a Hope-King-inspired Mario Brothers room transformation!
And although they were invited to come to school in costume...
...Most were shocked at what they saw when they walked in the door this morning!
At each station, students focused on one multiplication table. They completed a series of games and activities in which they demonstrated fact fluency. Some activities were indoors:
While others, planned by my awesome colleague, Allison Weaver, took place on the playground:
Teachers, click here to grab station instructions!
'I think my favorite part of the day, though, was our ELA block first thing this morning. The kiddos came in to a crazy classroom with excitement seeping out of them, but they reined it in and got to work on reading and writing workshop. Just a little over one month into school, I feel like it was a turning point for us as a class, because I am seeing the students develop the maturity to balance and integrate work and play.
Interesting side note: Last Friday during a book discussion PLC on Tap, Click, Read, our librarian made the point that perhaps since we are giving kids flexible seating options to empower them to choose their most productive learning environment, we should also be giving them flexible response options. This came up as we were discussing the balance of print and digital media and how we can best combine the two for maximum impact. During ELA this week, the students analyzed picture books, labeled evidence of character traits (using cute thought bubble post-its that were in Target's school supply clearance), then wrote sequels to their stories that maintained the same character traits but with different plots. With our librarian's words still floating through my mind, I decided to give the students a choice as to whether they would like to publish their writing as a physical book, using paper, or as a digital book, using Book Creator. About 25% chose paper while 75% chose digital. However, I also allowed them to choose how they would take their math quiz yesterday. 90% chose paper and 10% chose digital. I think it is just so interesting to see the kiddos' preferences and opinions when they are given the choice on various activities. And just like we have practiced when it comes to making smart seating choices, the students were able to very logically and responsibly defend their choice with evidence from past productivity.
Interesting side note: Last Friday during a book discussion PLC on Tap, Click, Read, our librarian made the point that perhaps since we are giving kids flexible seating options to empower them to choose their most productive learning environment, we should also be giving them flexible response options. This came up as we were discussing the balance of print and digital media and how we can best combine the two for maximum impact. During ELA this week, the students analyzed picture books, labeled evidence of character traits (using cute thought bubble post-its that were in Target's school supply clearance), then wrote sequels to their stories that maintained the same character traits but with different plots. With our librarian's words still floating through my mind, I decided to give the students a choice as to whether they would like to publish their writing as a physical book, using paper, or as a digital book, using Book Creator. About 25% chose paper while 75% chose digital. However, I also allowed them to choose how they would take their math quiz yesterday. 90% chose paper and 10% chose digital. I think it is just so interesting to see the kiddos' preferences and opinions when they are given the choice on various activities. And just like we have practiced when it comes to making smart seating choices, the students were able to very logically and responsibly defend their choice with evidence from past productivity.
Another great moment was finishing our day by having our first meeting with our first grade reading buddies! We are so excited to partner with Mrs. Fortenberry's firsties:
I want to end with one more shout-out to our amazing parents for donating your time, materials, effort, and talents to this room transformation! You all completely amaze me! Thank you! Also, a huge thank you to Home Depot for donating our carpet for this room transformation!