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What I find challenging about this topic is that student’s interests change throughout the year. I try to keep connected with them by giving surveys again, eating lunch together, or talking with them at recess. I would like to use some of the questions in the articles because they would provide a deeper response than just one word responses. I also like how it expressed that it’s not just their interests that give us valuable information but it is also student’s concerns.

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This topic reminded me a lot of what we do at View. The “social contract” reminded me of being a PBIS school and how we use common language and structures. The team building activities help to build relationships among students and teachers. The article on collaborative problem solving was a great connection for me because we are continuously discussing and applying these skills in morning meetings, at recess, in small groups, etc. In the future, I want to give students more time to reflect on how they think they work with partners or on a team.

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Self-reflection for myself is a skill I feel I am strong in. I wish to model think alouds for self-reflection so I can show my students how to do it in the different areas of our day all year long. The prompts included in the article will help me to plan ahead so I can use them to think aloud with purpose.

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Flexible Seating has always been an interest of mine. Flexible seating provides students the opportunity to have choice with space and seating. The main idea if this is so students can sit were she or she can learn best. My only concern is that my classroom is not all that large and I don't have the funds to purchase some of the seating I have seen in educational magazines.

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I love the idea of student choice! Thinking of myself as a learner, choice is always appreciated so why would it not be with my students?!?! I am getting better at offering a choice during learning times, especially during math and literacy independent work station times. The idea of a playlist intrigues me, especially later in the year in Kindergarten I feel I have some students who could handle this. I am specifically thinking of proficient students who do not need as much direct teacher instruction as at times they grasp a concept easily.   Perhaps I could have those student work through a menu or playlist to solidify or enhance their learning.  Worth a try!

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I too am interested in flexible seating, and funds was a concern for me as well. I have decided to buy one piece of flexible seating each year with the PTO funds each classroom has been given. I know it will take a while but at least this offers me a start!

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Flexible seating seems like a slam dunk but the logistics of purchasing and executing this personalized learning strategy can seem overwhelming at times. I would love to offer choices to students as I know sitting at a table on a hard chair is not ideal for everyone, after all, I prefer a good recliner to do my work in at home :) The articles in this section offered some real solutions to offering flexible seating and I also appreciated the "rules" some classes had brainstormed.

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Ha! I do this, I think we all do. So it turns out I (we) are on the path to personalized learning! I love teaching in small groups as it allows an opportunity for feedback, students to learn from each other, and flexibility. My goal it to have my groups become more fluid in responding to formative assessments. At times students stay in a group for a while, and could possiblybe moved to another group or not met with at all for a period of time.

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Team building is so important to setting a classroom culture that students can thrive in. Sometimes I find myself assuming students know how to work with partners or on a team. I love the idea of giving more time to reflect and maybe some direct instruction in this area!

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I actually love giving formative assessments.  In kindergarten students learn new skills at different paces.  I find it fascinating how quickly some kids learn new skills. So it is quite rewarding to look at formative assessments throughout the year. I liked this sentence: Good teachers in every subject will adjust their teaching based on what students know at each point. After giving a kindergarten formative assessment, I analyze my data and change my teaching, if needed ,or reorganize my groups. I would love to work with my team and create our own EXIT tickets. I have seen a lot on Teacher Pay Teacher but creating our own would work as well.

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This reminds me of our View Data wall we had in our conference room. I was able to check in on former students and check on their struggles as they move to different grade levels. I would love for our Kindergarten team to have our own Data Tracker using data from PAST, PA, 95%, Sight Words, letters names and sounds. Having a data tracker in Math would be very beneficial as well. I am not sure how I feel about having a Class Data wall. I know a few current students who struggle and they would have a hard time seeing their name in an area that is hard for them.

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In the past few years, I have developed an interest in flexible seating.  Unfortunately, I do not have an unlimited budget to order different kinds of flexible seating for my current classroom. After reading the research on the benefits ( it channels excess energy, improves metabolism, motivates learning, increases engagement, and improves posture) it makes me feel bad for my current students. I can see most of my students benefitting from flexible seating. I will have to become creative to find ways to provide different seating for my kindergarten students next year.

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I feel I am also strong in self reflecting. Unfortunately, I think I may reflect a little too much at times. (I'm working on that) I would love to see this modeled in a kindergarten setting. I am sure your 1st graders would do a nice job reflecting after seeing you model. I feel they are ready for that. I currently have some students who I could model self reflecting with.

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I agree with you as I love teaching small groups as well. I am working on using my formative assessments to guide my groups more frequently. I am guilty of keeping some of the same kids in a small group longer than necessary.

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Tapping into student interests is something that I am continuing to dive into more. In the past, it has been easier to see which kids play which sports (they are usually wearing jerseys/sports gear), but I'm wanting to learn more deeply about students interests. Sometimes, they are the simple things: unicorns vs. Fortnite, Miranda Sings vs. Jake Paul, etc. More often, and more importantly, they are deeper concepts, such as "Which subject gives you the most struggles?" or "Which fellow peer would you like to get to know better? However, sometimes basic things such as "Do you prefer a desk or a table?" or "Do you prefer soft music or silence?" can make a big impact too.

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Student choice is often a driving force in my classroom. Thinking specifically of most math lessons, I always start out with mental math (5ish minutes) and the whole class lesson (15ish minutes). From there, the craziness happens: some students are well beyond the concepts - they can do a few problems to prove it and then move on to extensions (games, enrichment activities, MAP skills, 5th grade content); others on target usually have the option of practicing on Khan Academy or with the enVision book; those who have gaps are encouraged to work with me for at least a bit, but then are able to work with a partner/small group or by themselves. By the end of the lesson, in conjunction with some sort of Exit Ticket, kids have been able to access grade level content in a manner that suits themselves best.

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Goal setting is an important piece of personalized learning.  It moves the focus from what I, the teacher, want kids to know to what they, the students want to be able to do.  It makes feedback more meaningful; it makes effort during daily classtime stronger; it makes attitudes towards testing less about "getting a good grade" and more about "a celebration of my learning".  I've used data binders to help out with this process:  I have a pretty basic sheet for each power standard, and for standardized tests, students have graphs of different sorts (bar, line, etc.) to monitor their progress over time.
Moving forward, I'd like to spend just a little more time allowing students a chance to reflect on their progress, set "next step" goals, and provide them with a bit more support when acting upon those

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Hi Michelle - you have some great comments that spoke to me: being flexible based on formatives was a big one. Also, you mentioned finding/using formatives...sometimes it feels like everything needs to be perfectly planned and packaged, but the truth is that sometimes formatives are off the cuff, a basic word problem that encompasses possible misconceptions, or even a short one-on-one discussion with a child. Keep up the good work - you rock!

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Response to Michelle, Anna, and Jeff (Brandon)

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Response to Michelle, Anna, and Jeff (Brandon)

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Your concerns are right on par with mine, and sometimes as I get more and more skeptical, I tend to think of only the negatives associated, especially cost and space. Another concern I have is the "jealousy factor" - what happens when someone wants to sit somewhere but someone else is already there? I've tried a cozy chair and wobbly chairs in the past, and I just can't get past that selfishness factor. Jeff, you mentioned coming up with some class rules about it, which I think are great, but from past experience, it seems like it's just better to keep it simple. (Also, is having a student chill in a lounger an accommodation on the ISASP? How is that documented? ;-D)

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I love it when I am given choices!
When I am given a choice I feel much more engaged with my learning. With that being said, I am very interested in offering choice boards in both ELA and Math. Choice boards offer specific learning needs, interests, and abilities. Additionally, students can determine which activity they are most comfortable completing first, and once they master it, they can move on to more challenging activities. Now I just need the time to create them!

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In my opinion goal setting is extremely important for learning.  By knowing what you want to achieve, you know what they have to concentrate on and improve upon. At the same time, goal setting works hand-in-hand with having a growth mindset. When someone believes they can do something, they will. It may not be right away, but with the right goals long term and short term, anything can be achieved.

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I too love to use formative data. It really does guide my instruction. But for me, I always try to remember a formative assessment does not always mean students have to "take a quiz" pencil paper.

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I, too, value small group instruction. it is the perfect time to reinforce or reteach specific skills and concepts. The small groups do not have to be leveled, but rather, based solely on student needs.

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Learning about the visual profile and preferences to all students is a critical step with Personalized Learning. We will have an opportunity to make personal connections and gain some insight of student interests that we normally wouldn't have. This seems to be one of the building blocks with Personalized Learning. I also like the idea of posting those interests on a bulletin board to foster discussion with other students.

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When I look at Self and Peer Evaluations, this is a great opportunity to build community. Often when peer evaluation takes place, it will open up areas of discovery and self awareness that students don't quite have for themselves just yet. Finding positive ways to evaluate and give each other feedback will result in a positive classroom environment.

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Data tracking was an easy connection for me. We do a lot of data work at Prairie View and it's an important way for students to connect to their own learning. We use data binders in our classroom and we use that data to do some goal setting towards collective and individual goals. Data also helps keep students accountable for their own work and motivates to achieve even more.

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When we look at diving deeper with interests, I agree that we do a lot of surface level learning about our students. If we are able to learn about them on a more personal level, they will gain more trust with us and hopefully lead to better work habits in the classroom. It also brings the empathy piece into play with them feeling like we care about them and not just knowing who they are.

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Anna when I think of student choice I think of happy kids in our classroom deciding what they want to learn about. There is probably no better way to engage our students than to give them opportunities to learn about self interests. I am more interested in the choice boards as well. Using some dedicated PLC time to make them would be a good opportunity.

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I loved the idea of teaching students to write affirmations to one another. I can see that it would help to build a strong community and help to make each child feel like they matter to the group and that their contributions are important. I can see where it might help students to see that others are listening to them all the time so what they say matters.

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I agree that peer evaluations can help build community.  It also seems like a skill that would be valuable for a student's whole life- to look at another person's work and see the positive in it!

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I liked to see how students looked knowledgeably at their MAP scores and data to decide areas they need to improve on. Then they looked at their daily work or homework to see how to improve.  Great to see kids taking ownership of their learning.

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I loved the menu planner for Math. It allows kids to have some choice in activities to practice skills while still ensuring they complete the "must do's." Which in the example were the Main Dishes.  The sides were able to be chosen, and the desserts were optional.  I would love to create something like this for math group independent work.

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I agree View does a great job of having kids collect and manage their own data. I think it would be great if we shared our data binders vertically. I am sure parents appreciate how they are unique at each grade level, but some similarities might help kids make connections to self-evaluation from year to year!

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Flexible seating is something that I have been experimenting with through out this school year. I was very apprehensive about letting go of the "control" that having students sitting at a desk brings. Setting solid expectations (when it is allowed, locations, etc.) were key for this to be successful. As well as getting students to really think about where they best learn and it is o.k. that if their learning spot is at their desk! Overall, my students have been very successful with flexible seating and even though I have had to pack up all of my flexible seating items due to my smaller space, I still have students asking if they could work in flexible seating spots around the room.

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This is something I want to become more skilled at for next year. My students have opportunities for peer evaluation during the writing/editing process, but I haven't taken it any farther. While working with a blended coach this year, she gave us a wonderful idea on how kindergarteners were interacting with each other through peer evaluations. She said that the students create goals for themselves each Friday for the following week. The students then meet with a peer to discuss their goals each Thursday. She said that students are more likely to be honest with each other and be more response to feedback when it comes from a peer. I think that this will help to hold each other accountable and to build stronger, more meaningful relationships.

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I love the idea of giving students a chance once a week to choose a learning object/topic that is meaningful to them. This would also answer the problem of finding time to 1:1 conference with my students. I just have a hard to picturing what this would look like, especially in a lower elementary classroom. Would everyone get to choose something they want to explore or would it be tied to something that they are learning about already?

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I too love to give my students formative assessments.  It is amazing to see their growth through out the course of a unit.  Analyzing the formatives really given a teacher insight into their student's understanding as well as their misconceptions.  I agree, that after giving a formative, I then have to figure out what my students need, just like putting together a puzzle!  It is so rewarding when, as the unit goes along, the stack of "apps" decrease as the understanding of students increase.  Michelle, we have created EXIT tickets for our students, especially for math.  They just have a few problems that corresponds to what was taught the previous day. They are not difficult to create at all!

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I do enjoy working with students in small groups as well!  I feel like you can really interact with students on a deeper, more meaningful level, especially when working on skills that they need.  This year I have been working on making my math groups more fluid and flexible, even at times day-to-day. It takes a little more effort and planning, but I really think it has made a huge impact on student's math understanding.

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I really liked the first article, as it stated that the first week of school is crucial and that is can define how the rest of your year goes. It stressed the importance of creating connections and having students work collaboratively. If we spend the time creating those connections it will foster deeper, more critical thinking later. The two ideas I really liked were the classroom treasure hunt and the 1st day of school puzzle. The Collaborative Problem Solving article then talks about how use those skills to create student-centered learning environments. One of the biggest challenges they listed (and I agree with) are that students have to take their individual problem solving skills and then apply them to a group setting. Hopefully with a strong classroom community from the beginning of the year, that may happens a little more seamlessly.

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Flexible seating is to provide choice with space and seating in the classroom. I was reminded to have the students reflect on where they are most successful. I need to look at my seating choice and add more creative seats. I am going to create the Flexible Seating Expectations anchor chart.

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Peer affirmations are used by students to create affirmations about their classmates. They can write something positive about themselves first. This helps build a positive learning environment. Teach the concept of specific, honest, and written affirmations first. Students love the compliment project.

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There were two major take aways I had when reading about peer evaluation in the classroom. #1- you have to have a strong classroom community to make it beneficial. #2- You can't just expect they know how to do it. You must teach them explicitly both the WHAT and the HOW. What should they be doing? How exactly should they be doing it. Should they ask questions, highlight a rubric, use question stems. etc. Before you can have any true success with this you must teach the process. However, when it is implemented at a high level it is very effective.

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Student choice is using digital learning menus, choice boards, or playlists. I learned that playlists can be very flexible and can meet the academic needs of all learners. I thought the sequencing was beneficial. I knew to gather the effective resources, but I never thought about sequencing the activities. I felt the Tic Tac Toe Board was the most effective for 4th grade.

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I completely agree with your statements, especially number one. I did peer evaluation a lot last year and it was successful. This year I did the same activity and it completely failed. In fact, I had two students in tears. I realized I did not set them up for success. I also realized the importance of really thinking about effective partners. Great thoughts! I feel this strategy is very beneficial

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I really appreciate all your work with goal setting. I am not surprised you chose this. I feel you have this personalized learning piece mastered. I appreciate the tools you have built and shared. It is important to think about the next step goals. Maybe this is something we could collaborate and add to the current template we are using for the standards.

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These resources talked about all of the benefits in providing students with choices for their assessment types. Not only does this increase students engagement and attention, but also when they have an assessment where they must create something or construct a response it leads to learning that is longer-lasting. A couple suggestions about how to do this are a tic-tac-toe board or to build assessment into games. I think a tic-tac-toe board would be something 3rd graders could easily understand and wouldn't be too difficult to create. I like the idea of using games to assess, but I really feel like I don't have enough knowledge or resources (or time!) right now to make that effective.I think PLC collaboration time to create these alternative assessments would be very beneficial.

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I agree-- I also love doing them. They do not have to be difficult and can provide you a wealth of knowledge. I like knowing exactly what my students have/haven't grasped yet. More than just using for student information, they are also a self-reflection tool for my teaching. It shows me whether the approach I took was effective or not. They also help with student self-reflection and goal setting.

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Response to Renee, Carrie & Anna (Kerby)

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Response to Renee, Carrie & Anna (Kerby)

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This is also something that I am very interested in, but if I am being honest, it scares me to give up "control." Will they be focused? Are they mature enough to be successful with it? That isn't even addressing the financial issue of funding all of the seats and spots. I agree with Renee that we would have to continually have students self-reflect about whether they are being successful or not. Carrie- I would be interested in how you set up expectations throughout the year. Also-do you have arguments over spots and what ways have you found to be fair with the various seats?

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I love to get to know my students interests but I feel like it takes longer to do this in kindergarten that when I taught other grades because you have to depend on class meetings and interactions thought the day because they can't write their answers on a survey like they can when they have more writing skills. I think one way to make this happen more quickly would be to give the parents a survey to fill out so you could find out the information on a more timely basis.

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I enjoy working with students in a small group because it is easier to CFU than it is in a large group. I move students in my group as needed but it seems that usually your struggling students seem to stay in the same small group. 

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I enjoy working with students in a small group because it is easier to CFU than it is in a large group. I move students in my group as needed but it seems that usually your struggling students seem to stay in the same small group. 

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Peer feedback is a valuable tool that we often take for granted because we see ourselves as the master of all that is learning and correct. Yet we do not go to our curriculum leads for every question we have about our instruction, we go first to our grade level team! The only difference is that none of us, especially our students, have mastered the ability of providing appropriate and helpful feedback. It was suggested in the podcast that feedback can tend to be lazy even when given a rubric to follow. Teaching and practicing how to provide feedback regardless of skill (below, at, or above) and the language of constructive conversation for specific skills. That step in itself will certainly take some time for students to become comfortable and competent. The benefit to peer evaluation will most likely be simultaneously helping themselves because what they learn to see in other student's work then they will hopefully turn that same level of attention to their own.

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I think this is a big emphasis at view.  Our day starts out with a class meeting that sets the tone for the day. It also allows us to talk about things we need to work on to be  a team.  I think the common language and the Promise Keeper notes helps to reinforce the importance of being a team player

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I think this is a big emphasis at view.  Our day starts out with a class meeting that sets the tone for the day. It also allows us to talk about things we need to work on to be  a team.  I think the common language and the Promise Keeper notes helps to reinforce the importance of being a team player

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Self data tracking will become more and more important as we get closer to Personalized Learning within the culture of our instruction. In order for students to be able to set goals and reflect on their growth, students will need to see more data based on their own abilities. The independent practice of looking at scores, reflecting, and setting goals of future learning adjustment will be a skill that will need to be taught and practiced. We will also need to be prepared to teach the ability to internalize that want for improvement as well. The need to look at units in smaller steps will also be necessary so that they can also track the steps towards mastery of that standard as opposed to progressively shading in a score for that entire standard. This way students will be able to see smaller "wins" along the way as opposed to a 2..2..2 on their bar graph.

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This category wasn't what I expected when I saw the heading but having had issues within my own classroom and being able to see the far future implications at the college level with the stories I hear from Mount Mercy, this topic is certainly a lifelong skill. Digital citizenship has lifelong implications because a student's footprint can now reach far beyond their classroom. Students need to not only understand the basics of taking care of technology but taking care of themselves while they are using technology. It isn't just cyberbullying but also the pictures they post, the comments they make on a gaming website, a joke they shared on Twitter, and seemingly innocent video they posted on YouTube. Teaching digital citizenship is beyond simple do's and don'ts. We need to teach our students (and our own kids) the ability to step back before clicking upload and question the implications of that action. How much will that upload cost me? My friends, my education, my job, my future?

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And having a simple binder of student interests would also help with those moments during writing when a student "Can't think of anything to write about." Or even those moments in the library when a student "Can't find a book." Having preferences handy would at least give us a little leverage to at least be able to provide a student specific push when it is needed.

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Who doesn't like a positive affirmation? It is a skill often overlooked and might be one they don't have a strong ability to perform because they themselves do not hear them enough. This skill would also carry over to peer reflections when providing positive feedback.

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Being knowledgeable about my students' interests and giving students choice has been a major goal of mine. This stemmed from work done by the Sisters with Daily 5 and Cafe. Using student interest surveys at varying points in the school year would be a goal for myself. I use them at the beginning of the year but fail to spiral back around. In reading Reading Conferencing by Jennifer Serravallo she talks about doing different types of conferences to tune into students. She talks about varying between assessment, goal setting, compliment, research/teach, coaching and strategy conferences. These conferences will allow me to continue to grow in this area.

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I love the idea of giving the google survey at the beginning of the year and having it handy to look back at throughout the year. I agree with Sarah that kids' likes change over the course of a year, especially in the younger grades. They can easily have their mind shifted by a friend. I like the idea of maybe giving the survey more than once throughout the year and being able to have discussions with students about maybe why their thoughts changed.

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It feels like you literally took the words out of my mouth. I too agree that those first weeks of school are critical it building a solid foundation for our teams. They need to learn to connect with one another, learn from one another and turn to one another for support. The learning situations that you spoke of really allow students to practice all of these skills together very early on. I would like to deepen my toolbox of strategies when it comes to collaborative problem solving within the classroom.

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I absolutely love using small group instruction within all curricular areas in fourth grade. All students deserve time with me within each subject area so that the four critical questions can properly be answered. Students tend to learn better when in small groups and differentiation is much easier to reach. Tasks and learning experiences match their readiness levels and students are able to receive effective feedback in a timely manner. My teammate, Kayla, suggested using small groups for Science instruction and that has been a GAME CHANGER to ensure that all students are engaged, participating and connecting to the content.

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This is reassuring that we are already doing so much towards personalized learning. Working in small groups helps you build a deeper understanding of students and builds a closer relationship of trust.

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Once again, I feel that View is completely on the right track. This section reminded me of all the activities we do during Olweus to build trust in each other. I loved the idea of having a scavenger hunt at the beginning of the year to have students get familiar with the room. I think it is crucial that we spend a lot of time at the beginning of the year to establish working together as a team to help build the trust and relationships. Our structure of morning meetings really aligns with team building. There were so many fun ways provided that I would like to try at the beginning of next year. I like the game "Have you ever..." and the Q and A hand. That would be fun to display so others from other classrooms could read too.

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I have really tried to use flexible seating in my classroom throughout my career and it has worked well so far. I have really loved allowing students to dig in and get comfortable as they work. Having students only sit in flexible seating options and for them to not have a homebase is a struggle for me. The logistics of it seems a bit mind boggling for me. I know that many students love having a desk and love having their materials organized, while others would be open to sitting anywhere. For a couple of years, I had dabbled in having about eight students be what is called my "pit crew" and for that seating rotation they had a basket as their "desk" and could choose to work and learn anywhere within the classroom. I really loved it and would like to try it again. I just need to purchase materials that would make for comfortable and accessible work stations.

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I thought it would be fun to give the  survey more than once as well. Kids at this young age often get their minds persuaded by what their friends are thinking.

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Once again you are taking the words right out of my mouth. At Cadre this is an area that I really dug into. I would love to work on peer evaluation in my classroom but what that looks like is still a mystery to me. The examples given are geared more towards middle and high school I believe and they seem to think it is something mastered in a short period of time. Thinking about how to roll it out to students effectively and then practice their evaluations and give feedback seems daunting. I do believe the work would be worth it, it is just a matter of figuring it all out.

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This section really resonated with me. I feel like View really is on the right track in this area. I like that we have some structured meetings but the flexibility to do what our class needs during a certain time. It is so great to be able to sit down and work out a problem as a class. I think Olweus really allows for a lot activities to build trust to strengthen a team.

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Peer affirmations can be done in so many different ways. This would be a great project to do multiple times throughout the year. It helps to promote classroom culture and community.

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I have been interested in the idea of flexible seating for a couple of years now.  I have implemented several different seating options into my classroom, but haven't given up total control on when they can use them. I let flexible seating be a choice during literacy centers if students are using ipads, or during read to self, but still operate in a traditional standpoint for regular seatwork.  I would like to get "brave" enough to try flexible seating during other times of the day, so we'll see what the end of the year brings!

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I believe bringing student interests into my small groups this year has helped some of my students be more successful.  I did a unit with my small groups called self-awareness where I had them think about their qualities, what they are good at, and what their interests are.  I used this data to decide how to form some of my lessons to be of more interest to my students.  Sometimes social skills instruction can be boring for students and designing lessons with a theme from their interests has seemed helpful.  Like Sarah said, their interests do change throughout the year.  I've had lunches with my students or just taken some group time to chat with them about "what they are into".  This has helped me stay "up-to-date" on what they like and what their interests are.

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I love your cited research for the benefits of flexible seating for students.  I also want to say, you should not feel bad for your current students.  They are thriving and comfortable, and in an environment that is serving them well!!!  It will be interesting to explore ideas for flexible seating as a team and bounce ideas off each other!

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I feel flexible seating has sometimes been a life saver in my room. With the flexible seating my room, expectations were taught and practiced, then students had a chance to try all of the possibilities. I allow students to choose where they feel they will learn the best. This has also helped in my room when a student is elevated. Having a comfy spot to relax or "hide" has helped some of my students get back in the green zone.

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Flexible seating is allowing students the choice of where they would like to work during independent or partner time. I think we all do a form of something like this in our classroom. Many of us have comfy spots for students to learn in. I think it's important to find a balance between this. There is a time and place. In my classroom we use comfy spots during math and reading rounds. One draw back from using flexible seating is having the budget to purchase materials. I slowly try to keep adding new and fun things each year.

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Student choice is a goal of mine to implement more in my small groups. Allowing students the ability to choose "how" they will learn or what "tool" they will use to learn the concept will increase student buy-in. With as dry as some of the social skill topics can be in my small groups, finding more ways to "livin it up" will hopefully increase student retention of the skill.

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I agree with other responses about how View is on the right track here! I love the resources we've been provided with from Responsive Classroom for energizers. Morning Meeting is a great way for all of our students to start the day as well. The idea that the first week(s) are so critical in setting classroom climate resonated with me as well. It just serves as another reminder, as well as some validation, that working hard to create that community early on, without getting heavily into academic content the first couple of days, is going to benefit the classroom culture in the long run!

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I love how we all use common language here. There have been times this year I have gone to some of my teachers and shown them or explained to them the things I am teaching in my small groups or the language I am using and they have expanded upon my lessons in my small groups with their whole class. I feel this helps not only my students better learn the skill but also our entire student population.

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Getting to know the students and their interest is so important to building that classroom community. One thing we do daily is something called CREW. The acronym doesn't really stand for anything. This is strategy I learned in my college experience and what we called it at the time so it has always just kinda just stuck. The name isn't really what's important it's the action behind it. At the end of the day we have a community circle. Each person rates their day 1 to 10. If they would like to share something with the class they can or they can say pass. I always make them rate their day but if they don't want to share anything else they don't have to. This is a good temperature check. It also helps me to learn more about what's going on in their lives daily. T

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When I student taught, my host teacher had a list of affirmations her entire class said every morning after announcements. You could see the students believing in these affirmations and applying them throughout their day.

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My entire school day consists of small group instruction for literacy and math. My students learn best in this environment and need it in order to be successful and experience success. They receive more individualized instruction of specific skills with direct feedback, along with additional opportunities for practice. It also ensures they are engaged in the learning and helps build their confidence.

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YES! I agree so strongly with how critical those first few weeks are in establishing strong classroom community and culture!  I read once, somewhere, (helpful source, I know!! LOL) that all the time taken at the beginning of the year to establish culture and community is paid back ten fold by not having to continually interrupt lessons to have discussions about being kind, respectful, following procedures, etc!  I know we all have to do this throughout the year, as part of good teaching and general maintenance, but I believe it is minimized when we take the time to really build this from the beginning!

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I think Mark brings up a good point that peer feedback is something that can make a big impact but we must first teach kids how to do this effectively. It always starts with us. We must first model to students what specific feedback look likes. Having a strong classroom culture is so important for this strategy!

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Giving students the opportunity to make their own choices in learning increases their motivation, which I believe increases more meaningful learning. If we empower students through choice, they take more ownership in their learning and it helps us as educators to differentiate with the instruction options that are targeted towards our learning outcomes/goals.

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Student tracking their data is so important especially when technology is involved. Sometimes I think we easily forget how important this piece is. Having a weekly conference with students on their data on Freckle has made a huge difference in my classroom.

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I love the idea of being able to do more of this, quickly, in kindergarten. I felt overwhelmed as I was reading some of the options, thinking of the time it takes just to teach tech to kinders. Then I read more about Plickers, Quick Key, Zip Grade, and Grade Cam, and was excited about the idea that I would be the one with the technology, taking out a step of management, that would be a tool for quick checks. I also think creating more of these paper/pencil with our team would be good. What resonated with me was when the gal mentioned that she asked her kids if they got it, ALL said yes, but in reality only 2 did have it. I think this happens often, and to have the actual formative data to know and guide instruction is critical for success!

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I agree, it seems pretty natural to offer choice in kindergarten through math and literacy center activities. It would be interesting to brainstorm together as a team the idea of a playlist, for later in kindergarten as you mentioned. I know there are other classrooms that use this in first grade, which gives me the confidence that it could also be implemented in kindergarten!

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I love how you mention that each student "deserves time with you" in each content area. The 4 critical questions are so much easier to be clear on if you have that time with each student. I hope to give small groups a try with science and social studies like you mentioned. Great idea!

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Not surprising that I picked team building to start my reflecting:) I love how the staff at View really takes the SEL component of class meetings seriously. That is one of the reasons our relationships with students are so strong. Taking time to play and do the beginning of the year team building activities is essential. It will set the tone for the year. Coming back and revisiting one of these or teaching anew energizer or game builds a deeper trust within the room. It is absolutely essential that students not only trust us but bond and trust each other. Doing these activities year after year gives the student more connections with peers. We never want our kiddos to feel alone or disconnected. Social media is sneaking into the elementary so we have to build these kids up even stronger.

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I love the idea of having students reflect on how they worked with each other.  It makes me think of a simple three point scale developed together with the students.  When they are done with a partner activity they give themselves a score for how they think they did.  Holding up the number of fingers they give themselves and then discussing what they could try to improve next time.  It could turn into a behavior over time graph:)

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I love this! Just like our staff shout outs. Teaching students to notice things about each other.  Just like bucket filling or when we had a student run post office.  I know I teach this briefly but I would love for it to be more wide spread and honest.  I also love having them write affirmations to themselves first.  This would lead into being able to identify their strengths and weaknesses and setting goals.

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I thought the 35 questions for student reflection were interesting. What if they were used as a closing circle for the day? Choose a question that matches one of the topics you covered and have students make connections to how they could improve, do differently, use this in different areas like home, or how they could use to help others. I also find myself and hear others talking with students about choices they have made and having them reflect on how they could handle thing differently the next time or what would happen if everyone did that?

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I enjoyed hearing about all of your ideas that are going on in the classroom.  I appreciate coming into rooms where the students know the expectations for the seating.  I also appreciate when the teachers notice that students may be taking advantage of my lack of knowledge of those expectations:)  It would be interesting to list all of our flexible seating ideas and brainstorm some solutions to the funding issue.  Thanks for all you do to make your classrooms so flexible and welcoming!!

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I was really intrigued by the examples provided on the first link: Fantastic, Fast Formative Assessment. I thought the teachers example of students claiming to understand the material only to find out that only two of the students could really find the answer was very relatable. I found the technology examples to be something that I really want to try out with some of my groups. I think the idea of having students answer questions and having the answers recorded for me would be really beneficial. I try to keep notes and track of things but sometimes groups move fast so having records kept digitally would be really beneficial.

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I think this is something that makes the process of learning visible for students. The importance of not just tracking their own data but the conversations that they have with teachers about their progress. Research shows two of the most important factors in increasing motivation for student learning is being sure that students are capable of completing the task and that they see the task as something that is valued. If you are keeping track of the students data, conferencing with the students, and sharing data with their families students will know that their work is being valued.

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I think reflection and self assessment ties closely to student performance data tracking.  If students are able to track their performance the next step is to reflect on the data.  This video showed students really taking ownership of the learning the needed to do to strengthen their weaknesses.  It was really impressive to hear students say "This is something I didn't even realize I was bad at. Now, I know I need to really focus on this area to improve."

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My day is also made up entirely of small groups and I think it is the best setting for many of the reasons that you stated. I am wondering how you handle keeping groups fluid? This was a common concern among classroom teachers and I share the same concern. I feel like special education would be even more challenging to create a group structure that does not feel static.

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I agree that this type of assessment seems to be so engaging and would "stick" with students longer. It seems like it would be a valuable use of PLC or TQ time to create these types of assessments for future use.

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I thought the closing reflection categories of Relationship/Collaboration, Community & Citizenship, Academic Performance and Future Goal Setting would tie nicely into PE. We are always talking about Sportsmanship which are the first two categories, we reflect on our learning which is the Academic piece and ways we can use our learning as we grow and develop.

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I like your idea of a closing circle for the day. I do that in PE more at the beginning of the year. Once we get in the swing of things I do less of that but should do more. I think it is good for kids to be reflecting on choices and how they can do something differently to better themselves and help others.

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I think Peer Evaluations are difficult for kids at this age level. That might be why the examples under this heading were geared toward older students.
Kids need to have time to practice the how and what of evaluating their peers. In PE, I have used Peer Evaluations with a rubric so they know what to look for. This works pretty well, but again takes practice. At our level, kids are learning the skills so I don't think they are strong enough to evaluate the new skill in someone else, unless it is clearly spelled out what they are to evaluate and how.

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I think you are correct about Peer Evaluation being tough to do at this level, but not impossible. Kids need to have time to practice and learn how to evaluate a peer's work. Once we have given them time and the tools to evaluate someone's work they will become successful at the process which will lead to higher level learning.

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I loved the Peer Affirmation examples. The mailbox idea and the written affirmations on the board were very cool! I could see this working in the upper elementary classrooms. I liked the idea of having students write affirmations to themselves first then to other students. I think kids need to know what others see and think about them. What a positive way to share with others.