Our school began a “rolling start” aka "soft start" schedule this school year, which means students arrive between 8:50-9:05 every day. The school day technically starts at 8:50, but we do not start our morning meeting and direct instruction until after the school wide breathing, which is usually about 9:10. Therefore, we have at least 20 valuable minutes for learning and morning warm ups. I would like to make better use of this time by having targeted hands-on activities for students to do when they first come to school. My students this year do puzzles on Monday mornings to warm up and it has been an excellent way to start the day as they wake up, talk with each other, and work together as table group teams. Next year, I would like to expand on this routine (even if we change schedules). Morning warm up work time could be used to differentiate instruction. I am picturing putting math facts pop-its on the desks of students who would benefit from facts practice, while putting an intriguing new nonfiction narrative picture book on the desk of a reluctant reader. The classroom community will also strengthen through shared new morning experiences, like reading a new magazine or learning a new board game.
- Improve targeted and individualized instruction.
- Build SEL skills of communication & teamwork.
- Build classroom culture through exciting activities that require teamwork.
- Provide active equipment such as balls and jump ropes for outdoor breaks.
The success of this program depends on new materials to use for warm up activities. I will be switching to teaching third grade next year so I have planned for this change in the selection of texts and activities appropriate for 8-9 year olds. I will know it is successful when students are immediately engaged in learning activities when starting their school day.
I have storage capacity in my classroom to house these new materials. I will organize my current materials and incorporate these new materials with clear labels so that they will be easily accessible and used frequently. I have also planned for activities that would be good for class-wide team building, such as bananagrams, and thus have requested multiple sets. Some chapter books fall into this category as well, as I have found book clubs to be very helpful with reluctant readers and building a reading culture. I should also note that though these materials will fit perfectly into a morning routine, they can certainly be used at any time of the day for individualized instruction, to build classroom community and SEL skills, and to enhance lessons.
Yes, I will share these materials with my grade level team. I have requested multiple sets of items so that we can have aligned structures in place across all three classrooms. Most of the materials can be used over and over again, with the exception of the modeling clay.
Dana Seaborg and I met to compare grant applications to ensure that our proposals do not overlap but rather support our ideas. We are really excited to work together next year and to put some exciting grade level practices and projects in place!