What we learned this week!!!

This week marked the first week we were back in school after our Christmas break. During Christmas break I found a very cool idea that was basically like a students ticket out the door. Every day right before my bus riders start to pack up I write a question on the board and my students use sticky notes to answer the question. Now I don't take a grade on this, its my way of assessing if they are getting what we are working on or if I need to review something again.

I thought this idea would be a great way for them to show me what they have learned and you know what?? They have loved it so far!!! At least twice a day this week a student has asked me if we are going to do the sticky note question at the end of the day. As a teacher it is so exciting and refreshing to find things that your students love and you actually want them to do.

For Fridays question I asked them to tell me one thing they learned during the week.The answers truly brought a smile to my face. A good majority of the answers told me that they learned how to use remainders and do division. This was what we learned and talked about all week in math. Some of them told me facts they learned from our daily Did you Know lessons
 that we do throughout the week. (We will discuss that in a later post). However, one that got me more than any was from a student in my class who I am never sure if they are actually paying attention or not. They said that this week in class they learned how to spell the word alligator, as it was one of our spelling words. Not only did it blow me a way that they remembered it was a spelling word, but they spelled it correctly!

Seeing the light bulb go off and seeing that they are actually absorbing the things I am saying is incredible. When I started the did you know question it was more of a fun way to talk about things they may never cover in school.This weeks facts varied from a Harvard study that said chocolate can make you live longer, to a sports fact about Magic Johnson, what the largest arthropod is and that the cat is the only mammal that can't taste sweets. I did this thinking they would enjoy it not even realizing that they as much as I would look forward to the daily fact every day. Many remembered it so well they included it in their what they learned for the week.

As a new teacher I am always testing new things out. Some things have flopped and I haven't tried again and something like this ticket out the door and did you know facts have been a hit. The students love the question because they get to write on sticky notes and stick it to the board. I love the question because it is a quick way for me to assess what they are getting and what I need to cover a little better. Seeing what a student truly knows and that they are learning is the greatest joy a teacher can feel. After reading their answers on Friday afternoon, this teacher left school extremely happy.

Until next time,

Miss. B