Welcome, September!
New month! New school year! It’s hard to believe that the summer has come to an end and the new school year is starting. My kids don’t begin school until after Labor Day, however, my semester has begun.
I met with the new group of Literacy students on Monday and learned all about their summer vacations and their teaching positions. They have a great energy and I’m looking forward to working with them this year! I also taught my first class on Wednesday – with my students who were in the writing class I taught last semester. This semester, the class is centered on the teaching of reading. I decided to try out a new activity this semester – one that I have written about and spoken about on the podcast. It’s the “I Statement” activity from Katie Cunningham’s book, Story: Still the Heart of Literacy Learning. The objective of this activity is to build community in the classroom. Students write one sentence that begins with “I”. For example, I am happy when… or I went to… or I am looking forward to…. After writing the “I Statement”, students come to the front of the classroom and share their statements. When my students did this, it was amazing to see the connections that formed – and I did not give them time to discuss what they planned to write. This activity got the students writing and also got them speaking in front of each other – a skill that is important to build. Overall, my group really liked the “I Statements” and we discussed ways to modify this activity for the content areas. Many of the students were planning on trying it out in their classrooms after the start of the school year! A win – it’s always great to find a strategy that my students like and can implement into their own classrooms!
Back to the new year – I love the feeling of September. It always feels like a fresh start. To me, September is the “real” new year. After a break from schedules, routines, and teaching in the summer, it’s nice to set fresh goals and establish routines for a more structured time of the year. It’s also nice to get back to teaching and work with students. Some of my goals for September include working on a writing project, setting realistic “To Do” lists for each day, and getting enough sleep!
What are you looking forward to this September? Wishing everyone a wonderful start to the year! J