This will be my twenty-eighth year in the classroom, and I still look forward to September with a mixture of joy and trepidation.  (Oh yes…the school nightmares have started lol)  The conferences that I attended this summer fired me up….but how do I bring that to my students, my colleagues, my student teacher?  How do I plan for this year?!! 

My focus has changed over the years and while I may have once arranged my classroom activities around a curriculum, I now arrange my curriculum around one theme:  Building Strong Relationships.

So here I sit, pondering my plans, aware of this significant paradigm shift.   What do I want to do in my classroom/program this year?

Build strong relationships………….using the language whenever  possible.

           Create a safe and trusting environment…….. using the language whenever  possible.

           Define roles and expectations ………..using the language whenever  possible.

           Establish routines…………… using the language whenever  possible.

           Interact with each student…………. using the language whenever  possible.

           Plan for success………….. using the language whenever  possible.

           Recognize the needs, emotions, wants, hopes, dreams, struggles, strengths, thoughts,

                weaknesses, fears,  and  accomplishments of others…... using the language whenever  possible.

           Model desired behaviors……. using the language whenever  possible.

           Create shared experiences……… using the language whenever  possible.

I’m going to start with this framework and choose high-frequency language structures for my classes that will allow me to reach these goals AND promote language acquisition and increased levels of fluency in my students.  I’ll let you know what I come up with!!