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Success Squares

This is an activity that does a great deal in a short period of time!  It’s easy, can be done several ways, and is helpful for teachers and students.  Win Win!!

Start by creating several squares or rectangles on a whiteboard or computer-projected document.  I usually start with four and build from there. As you can see below, I label each square with a question word.   (Usually in the target language, but in English below for my readers.

I have students create one as well. ( Use small white boards, index cards, or print a sheet/half-sheet out for them in advance.)  

In the Who? Block, I ask students to list the names of two people/characters (actual or fictional, present-day or historical, human or not) that they admire that are positive role-models.  I often use Harriet Tubman as an example. They are given 2-3 minutes to think of names. Then I have them share with a partner and “harvest” on to their own list any of the names they agree with.  The pairs then match up with another pair and repeat the process on my signal.

At that point,  each group can share out their ideas and we create one large list together from their suggestions.   

We then repeat the process for the other squares. 

Directions:

Where:   List school-appropriate places where your students like to be/go or would like to be/go.  With novice groups, proper names (Starbucks, Disneyland etc) are used. With groups with more language, we add the target language tag (el café Starbucks) to the proper name.  The proper name is important for interest! If your students know the target language name for a culturally-related place (countries, cities, landmarks), fantastic! The key here is places that are high-interest for your students!

It is amazing what you discover about your students during this exercise!!  Be careful accepting names and places that you don’t recognize. Set them aside on a “To Google Later” list!!!  Sly students like to try to slip those past us!

What:  

1. List items that can be recognized by the proper name.  This one usually requires teacher support to get started:  

Food/Drink:   Coke, Mountain Dew, Orangina, Milky Way, Doritos, etc.  Cognate-friendly languages can also use those ie: pizza, chocolate or more universal terms:  crepes, tacos.

Technology: Ipad, Mac, Iphone, remote, Facebook, Insta, Minecraft, Playstation, Fortnite  etc.

Shoes:  Nikes, Toms, etc.

Transportation:  Segway, Porsche, Tesla, Schwinn, Greyhound, local metro or lightrail (BART etc.)

Highly-recognizable Animals:  Chihuahua, Condor, Gorilla, etc

2 Actions that students know in the target language:

TPR’d terms are the easiest to start with: walk, run, sit, stand, looks at/for, points to, dances, eats, drinks, sings, takes, takes pictures of, etc.

How:  Because many teachers use TPR, these are interesting and accessible terms for many classes:  Slowly/Quickly, Romantically, Without interest, Intensely, Carefully, Like a baby etc.

When compiled, we have a gorgeous, student-created, highly personalized list of things to use in discussions, stories, etc.  We can create one list to use with all classes, or create one for each level/class.

It can be printed in large font, or hand-written on poster paper (students love this job!)  It can be printed out for notebooks or projected on a screen. It can be done with words or in picture form for pre-literate students of any age.

This way it is visible whenever needed and it makes asking questions, personalizing discussions and co-creating stories so much easier!!

Look below for some examples. These are from this year’s Comprehensible Online presentation. Any questions?  Just ask!!

With love,

Laurie

Start From the Heart: Problem Solving-Test Anxiety

Today’s post is a little out of order, but something caught my eye and I wanted to share it with you!!

One of the things we all deal with in the classroom is test anxiety. No matter how much “safety” we have built in, the moment the word “quiz” or “test” pops up (see what I did there? 🙂 ) some of our students just freeze up or freak out.

These ideas won’t necessarily solve the problem, but they will help! Not everyone can do all of these, but if you feel you can’t, ask yourself why. Is it that you really cannot, or is it that it is just outside of what you are accustomed to? Our own “beliefs” about assessment are based on experience, rather than reality….and it’s good to examine them!

So take these ideas seriously, but remember, not all ideas are for everyone!!

1. Don’t test students on things they haven’t “mastered”.

Is that possible? More or less, so let’s strive for more!! Traditionally, even if we don’t like to admit it, language tests have been all about the top students. They have been full of very specific elements and the exceptions rather than the regular. Let’s change that!

If we are teaching towards success, and for proficiency, let’s document what they KNOW and what they CAN DO. (Otherwise we should be writing Can’t Do Statements!!!) Let’s fill up our quizzes and tests with items that allow our students to demonstrate their strengths.

Now, if we need to assess a particular skill or item in order to find out if HOW the students are doing, let’s do a lot of informal assessment. Let’s use that formative assessment to adjust the input we deliver and the interactions we have in class!

EVERYONE acquires their first language without testing, I”m pretty sure that it is NOT a requirement for second language acquisition. If, and when, we are required by the powers that be to formally assess a skill, let’s do it with humor, confidence and joy. Or at the very least make it a part of a larger assessment so that the test is predominantly material they can be successful with!

2. Assess skills as well as knowledge.

This could be an entire course of information on proficiency and assessment grading! So I’ll just say that we need to look at our assessments to see if they actually assess what we think they are. Unfortunately, the easiest assessments to grade are often the least effective at actual assessment. Let’s pledge to continue to work with colleagues and explore ways to assess that don’t suck up large amounts of class time but do allow students to demonstrate what they can do, as well as what they know.

3. Don’t put every assessment in the “book.”

Like many TPRS/CI teachers, I usually only put grades in the book if approximately 80% of the students earned a score of 80% or above. If the class, as a whole, scores poorly, then clearly there was a problem with the assessment or I assessed them too early. I should not be punishing the students for those reasons.

If just a few students do poorly, then I follow the department/school policies for make up tests. And make sure they get what they need if I can!

4. Give students what they need in advance, without giving them the answers.

Giving them the answers is what they say they want, because their experience is that teachers want very specific answers. Is that what we want? I don’t think so. Not on most assessments anyway. So let’s provide our students with materials that fill that need to have “answers” to prepare for…at least just a little bit.

A. Short lists, in paper form or on sites like Quia where students can “practice” will fulfill some of that need and lessen anxiety for students, parents and colleagues. They don’t have to be required, but they can be if that fits the needs of your situation.

B. Readings, and listenings, are their best gift. Anything that you do in class that can be put on line or in print form for them to use as a resource is also a gift. Of course, we don’t always have time for that, but if you have access to upper level students (they don’t have to be yours!) or cooperative heritage speakers, take advantage of their abilities to help you to prepare these materials.

C. Show them the format in advance. Not because they need it to do well, but so that they are not stressed when they see it.

D. Give assessment “structure” they can count on. We have lots of routines in the classroom. Let’s consider “testing” routines. Here are the ones I used in my deskless classroom in the last two years:

1. An assessment every Thursday. Sometimes very short, sometimes longer. I may or may not have told them in advance what would be on it, but they did know the format. It could be reading/listening (illustrate, fill in the blank questions, English questions, Spanish questions, open-ended questions, etc.) or writing (free write, structured writing, response writing) They also knew how it would be graded.

Confession: I needed to schedule assessments or I would forget to do them. Occasionally I would just call an assessment-free week and I could, because I knew that I already had enough in the book!

2. Students arrived to find a good luck message on their seats. Check this out!

Students could, if they wanted to, take a quick picture of the message before erasing it to prepare for the quiz.

3. Students picked up a “good luck duck” if they wanted to. I had a collection of tiny plastic ducks that students could have by their side during tests and quizzes. The Patitos were very popular!

(These are from Oriental Trading company..click on pic…which is where I got mine.)

4. After our daily start routine, I would announce the assessment and ask student to find a spot to take their quiz. Because we were deskless, they were allowed, within reason, to go to a different part of the room to take assessments. During this time, students were allowed to talk quietly, make sure they had a whiteboard/marker and borrow a writing utensil if needed. (I only allowed a couple of minutes for this!)

5. I used one of our call and response signals to quiet the group.

6. Tests were passed out FACE DOWN AND KEPT FACE DOWN. If the test had two sides, they put it under their whiteboards. I reviewed and reinforced this all year!!

7. When everyone had a test, then, we all took three deep breaths together and turned them over together. Everyone put their name on the paper at the same time. Then, I went over the instructions, asked questions to make sure that they understood the instructions and let them ask questions about the instructions. (Middle school, remember?!)

8. Students began the assessment. When they were finished, they answered the quiz question (see below) that was on the paper or the screen/board. (See below)

9. When that was finished, students either handed me the paper or raised their hand for me to collect (depended on the group!!). Either way, I looked over EACH paper as it was turned in to make sure that it was complete. If not, I could have a short conversation with that student to encourage/support finishing it. I also checked to see if their name was on it! (Middle school, remember?!)

10. Students then created a good luck note for the next class on their white boards.

11. If students are still testing, those who have finished their tests found a book in our FVR collection to read.

12. When all tests are turned it, I played a favorite, upbeat song and everyone returned to their regular seats for the next activity!! (Often a brain break!)

This routine looks long on paper, but it wasn’t and it solved many, many, many potential problems!

E. Connect with a Question:

For years my colleague Karen and I have suggested the sharing space at the end of the quiz. We know that a lot of you already do it. It’s a wonderful way to catch a moment with each student. Leave a section a the end of each assessment where you can do any of the following:

1. Ask a question (L1 or L2….to be answered in any way you prefer…I usually ask for answers in L1 but encourage and celebrate all answers in L2!)

Some ideas:
What was the best part of your week?
What are you looking forward to this weekend?
What nice thing did you do for someone this week?
Name two places you want to go to in your lifetime.
Who do you look up to and why?
What makes you laugh?
Who is your favorite Youtube star?
Tell me the name of a show/song/book I need to see/hear/read.

2. Ask for a drawing. It could be something you can use to intro the next lesson, or simple a random “Draw me a picture.”

3. Ask for feedback on the test, the week, whatever!

4. Take a poll: What Friday activity do you want to work for?
Do we need a seating chart change?
Etc.

F. Assess with confidence, joy and humor!

It’s pretty difficult to change a mindset that has been years in the making, but it’s worth a try! So many of our students are “test-stressed” that anything we can do to lessen their anxiety is a gift, to them and to our entire community.

So don’t be afraid to make it fun!! Use humorous pictures for writing prompts and humorous stories for reading. Put one or two totally ridiculous, or class-related answers in the multiple choice options. (It’s a great sneaky way to check comprehension….if they laugh, they understood!)

Celebrate with words! Say OUT LOUD when you are proud of how they approached an assessment, did their best, etc. If we can remind them that it is their attitude that can make the biggest difference, it will become easier for them to believe it!!

I love to use music to “end” an assessment. Let them sing! Let them use percussion instruments (if you dare). Let them gesture! Let them dance! Go back to the joy any chance that you can! (Even if they pretend they are too sophisticated for it!)

This turned out to be a bit longer than I planned. It isn’t your typical assessment post, but I hope that it solves some problems for you!

Oh….I almost forgot! Here is what caught my eye. I would love to have kids use these, but only on tests!

(I found these on Zulily…click on pic)
with love,
Laurie

Start From The Heart: Take Care Of Problems

Teaching in an IB school for the last two years taught me so much!! As the oldest of five siblings and a single mom of two boys (now men!), I have a tendency to try to take care of everything myself. Not because I think I can do it better, but because I am so programmed to look for potential problems and head them off at the pass. That can be a great quality, but, it gives others the impression that a) problems take care of themselves and b) I want to do everything…..neither of which is true!! The IB emphasis on learner traits really helped me to see how allowing everyone in the class to have a role in problem-solving not only aligned with our practice of classroom jobs, but also helped us all to share responsibilities and our talents every day.

How does the Rule ‘Take Care Of Problems” connect with other Start From The Heart ideas?

Respect–

A. Taking care of one’s own problems is a sign of self-respect. Teaching is complicated. We need to
respect that. Eliminating unnecessary problems is a practical way to honor the work that we do, and
to respect the energy we invest in this job every day.

B. Students need to observe adults solving their own problems. They absorb what we model. Even better
if we vocalize from time to time what we are doing and why. They cannot see inside our heads!! They
don’t hear our hearts!!! So stopping to take sips of water water and mentioning staying hydrated
teaches more than you would imagine. So does stopping to think before responding, showing them how we
choose songs and a number of other behaviors we can demonstrate!

C. When we demonstrate our commitment to avoiding and solving problems, we tell our students that they
matter to us. Students have amazing problem-solving abilities. It isn’t always easy to see,
particularly when some of them appear to be able to solve simple problems, but don’t. But they really
do. We often underestimate the number of problems they deal with every day! When we make it a clear
goal to commit, as a class, to taking care of problems, we respect that they are human beings, with a
lot to deal with, and that they have qualities and abilities that can help the entire group.

D. When we make Taking Care Of Problems a class initiative, we continue to grow as individuals and as a community, with common goals.

Success–

Success is not living a problem-free life. Success is dealing with life’s problems in a positive way whenever possible.

A. Whether we plan ahead alone, or with the help of students, we commit to avoiding
UNNECESSARY problems.

B. When we, and our students, can identify problems as they occur, we can address
those problems before they become insurmountable.

C. When we, and our students, find ways to consciously, creatively and compassionately
address problems as they occur, we experience confidence and relief. That…is
success!

So in order to continue to create an atmosphere of respect, and to prepare and maintain an environment for success, we are going to make Rule #2: Take Care of Problems. Want to get started?! That is the next post!

With love,
Laurie

See Rule #1: LIsten In Order To Understand.

Start From The Heart: LISTEN

1. Listen, with respect, in order to understand.

For the last several years, this has been the first “rule” in my classroom. It’s absolutely necessary for acquisition to occur and for community to build.

It’s actually a fairly simple rule….and I post it, point to it, refer to it and try to live it as often as possible. That last part, the living it, is sometimes the hardest part….for me!!

Teachers (and a lot of other human beings) tend to listen in order to reply. Not to understand. For me, that has been a hard habit to break. But when I manage to really listen, it often changes everything I thought about that moment and the student I am listening to.

More and more I am convinced that students not only acquire language from us, but also attitudes, interests, curiosity and actions. It’s what humans are wired to do. We (teachers) consciously and unconsciously project who we are and what we believe and think. Students consciously and unconsciously absorb what we think, feel, say and do. There are things that the clearly and consciously agree to accept and do…..and others that they acquire without even realizing it.

We all want to belong. When the behavioral rules of the class are clear, it is easier for students to follow the rules and be a part of the group. So Rule #1 is clearly posted. But if I want students to trust the rules and to trust me as the teacher, I have to follow the rule as often as possible.

That has not been easy for me!!!! I’m a bit of a talker!!! As with most habits, it takes a while to do it naturally. Lots longer than I would have liked. But it has made me a better teacher……and as with most things in teaching, it has also made me a better person.

There are a lot of ways to “teach” the rule, but that is another post for another day. But I do post it, I do “teach” it, I do enforce it, and I do try to model it whenever I can.

Does it work? Did my students become better listeners? More polite? More compassionate? More empathetic?

I can’t answer that. My students are a constant work in progress. I can never really know what they take away from their time in my room.

What I do know is that, in my room, while I was there, that when I was consistent with the rule, I saw them consistently listening to try to understand. To understand me, each other, a song, a video clip, a visitor. It created a calmer atmosphere and a more patient one. Some students, and some classes were clearly better at it than others. But we always tried.

Listen, with respect, in order to understand.

Listen,
Not look at a phone, a note, a book, scribble, draw, brush hair, do make up, finish homework, communicate with a neighbor or a million other options.

Listen.

With respect,

Not with impatience, frustration, anger or judgement.

With respect.

Not in order to get the response I want.
Not in order to say the response I have planned.
Not in order to “fake” being interested.
Not in order to see who “gets it” and who doesn’t.
Not because it’s someone’s turn to answer.

Only to understand.

Listen, with respect, in order to understand. As often as posslble.

With love,
Laurie

Start From The Heart: RESPECT
Start From The Heart: A Focus

Start From The Heart: A Series

Hello to old and new friends!

It’s been a very busy summer and here we are…at the beginning of a new school year. This year, I will not have my own classroom, but I am grateful to all of you who are opening your classrooms to me so that I can visit and guest-teach as I travel around the U.S. and beyond! It will take a day or two, but I hope to have an updated schedule up very soon.

As this new year starts for all of us, I am going to write a series named Start From The Heart. I’ll post a number of different ideas and activities that friends, colleagues, my students and I have found helpful for those starting the year, and/or starting with Comprehension-based teaching anytime during the year.

Some posts will be just for the teacher…things to ponder on and work with. Others will contain activities that you can do with colleagues or students. I will post these on my Teacher Pay Teachers site (Hearts for Teaching) as free uploads!!

I hope that you will find something that resonates with you and supports you at this exciting time of year! Please write me and let me know if there is anything specific you would like to see addressed. I know that there are many resources out there…thank you for being part of this one!

with love,
Laurie

Creating a Community

I had planned this as a listening activity….but it took on a life of its own! We had asked a story the day before using some phrases from the song Hoy Es Domingo sung by Diego Torres and Ruben Blades. (Check it out if you aren’t familiar with it!)

Phrases I wanted to include were:

It was Sunday.
S/he was in bed.
S/he wanted to sleep.

Each of the three Level 2 had co-created a great story the Thursday before and I wanted to go back and review the story on Monday.

My classes are good-sized: 30-34 students and I often feel like I am herding cats trying to keep us all together going the same direction at the same time. This was a total experiment, but I loved the result!

I divided the class into four groups. Each group had 1/2 of a large white board (I have two large boards, on opposite sides of the room) They arranged their chairs (we are deskless) in a semi-circle around their particular white board section.

I had drawn a grid of 16 squares on each white board and numbered them. One student went to the board in each group. I read the first sentence from the story out loud, in Spanish, and the author had THIRTY seconds to sketch that sentence in box #1. ONLY 30 SECONDS! The group was allowed to help with meaning and ideas for the sketch. ( Rules: No criticism of artwork or interpretation allowed. Suggestions welcome. English allowed…these were middle schoolers at the beginning of level 2) )We all applauded the artists and the next student went to the board.

My plan was to go until it fell apart. (Did you ever do that with a new activity?!!) But it never did! It just kept building momentum!

What I observed:

BONDING BONDING and more BONDING! These classes are a mixture of 7th and 8th graders with a 6th grader or two mixed in. The school has nearly 1000 students. They just don’t know each other outside of my class and they really got a chance to work with new people and connect. The rules kept great artists from getting frustrated and instead made them the expert with helpful suggestions and ideas. The students that weren’t as comfortable with the language had the support of the stronger students in the group. The kids who had no confidence in their artwork had the support of their group’s ideas.

GREATER COMPREHENSION! We revisited the story with the drawing and then, we used the drawings for several follow up activities! Each time my slower processing students understood the story with more detail and my faster processors were not bored in the least. Their own artwork was intriguing!

LAUGHTER! The fact that they only had 30 seconds to draw created just enough tension to lessen the pressure for perfection. In each group (without prompting from me1) one artist added a funny detail to the picture. It might have been a funny haircut on a stick figure or a facial expression etc. Then every artist afterwards continued to use it. It started a series of laughter among students who really hadn’t known each other well.

OWNERSHIP! Each group was very proud of their ‘creation” and posed for pictures with their artwork. (These are on the school device and I’ll upload them soon!)

I’ll follow up in the next post with our follow up activities!
with love,
Laurie

Power: Reflections on CIMidwest 17

I’m a little behind schedule, but with a few minutes this morning in Maine, I want to share my thoughts on the CIMidwest 17 conference.

It was powerful.

Power was core of this conference.

Now, technically, the theme of the conference was Equity. But by the time the weekend was over, for me, it was about Power.

Bob Patrick was the keynote speaker and his speech may have been the best keynote I’ve heard. Bob is a great thinker, a thoughtful writer, and a gifted speaker. His speech felt like a close personal story. He spoke about his journey as an individual and as a teacher (they really aren’t separate journeys.) I took fervent notes and here are a few of Bob’s “quotes” that truly spoke to me:

“Building human relationships is the most important work that we do.”

“The most important element of any hour that we teach, is the people in the room.”

“Comprehensible, Compelling, Caring”

“Noticing matters.”

“Who is NOT in your room…and why not?”

“Use your students’ questions as a portal to make meaning.”

“What if my last nerve is really my next best opportunity to connect?”

And it all came down to the Power we each have to change lives.
And if we acknowledge that Power.
And how we understand that Power.
And how that Power becomes a lens through which we see the world….and our students.
And how we use that Power.
And how that affects the Power that our students do, or do not, have.

Because in the end, the type of Power and amount of Power an individual has impacts his/her ability to be “equal” to others. No Power = No equality. More Power = More privilege.

It was meant to make us ask ourselves questions and to reflect on how our thoughts, our feelings and our actions affect our students and their ability to harness and use Power.

It did.

And we carried those questions and continued those reflections throughout the day, with each session that we attended.

The organizers had invited presenters and had scheduled presentations knowing that each had something to offer that would help teachers to continue their questioning and thinking WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, acquiring skills and developing strategies.

Beautifully done.

Next year’s CI Midwest Conference will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 29. Theme to be announced, but it promises to be another well-organized, thoughtful AND useful opportunity!

with love,
Laurie

Part 2 An Anchor For The Storms: Hearts For Teaching Blog Post

This year I decided to add a second poster option for my Spanish 2 students (primarily 7th graders).  About 1/3rd had had me as a teacher last year and I didn’t want them to have to do the same poster over again! Also, it was so successful that I wanted to see if it also worked with our Goals !

In Our Class We Try To…

Respect

Include

Communicate

Understand

Think

Improve

This week we focused on Respect and Understand as we began to get to know each other and how the class would run.  Next week we’ll add Communicate.

These goals, like the statement in the previous post, serve as a touchpoint for us all year long.  I was able to use them over and over again just this week.

Check out some of their work above and below!

with love,

Laurie

PS  I’ve invited the principal and two assistant principals to come in and choose their favorite poster (from both options)  I will color copy and frame them to be hung in their offices!!

An Anchor For The Storms P

The first weeks of school seem “easy” to some teachers.  In their rooms, students seem to follow the rules and do what is expected.  It is sometimes referred to as the “honeymoon” period, when everything is sweet and wonderful.

I don’t usually experience that, and maybe many language teachers do not.  Our expectations are different than the expectations of other teachers.  Our rooms are set up differently than the rooms of other teachers.  Our relationships with students are often different than those of other teachers.  For those reasons, it is extremely important to set the boundaries.   What are the parameters of behavior?  What is acceptable?  What isn’t?

Because I teach using TPRS® (thank you Bryce Hedstrom for this!) my students are going to be in a highly-participatory, interactive classroom.   This is new for many of them and it takes some time for us to work it out!!   So for me, the first few weeks are very, very important and my brain is highly alert for ways to time,  orchestrate and/or take advantage of the first and best opportunities to share HOW this class will work.  Once we get things rolling, then I relax a little bit!

For the last decade or so, I have started students with the following statement (or something very similar!_:

The purpose of communication is to put a picture into the mind, and/or heart, of another person. 

It is not a quote;  it’s one of my belief statements….in the classroom and in life.  I use it to “anchor” the classroom.

What do I mean by “anchor”?   

Well, teaching can sometimes feel as if you are out on the high seas in the middle of a hurricane.   It’s hard, with all that is going on and all that is required, to keep upright and to keep going in the right direction.   Sometimes you need an anchor to keep you from blasting off in the wrong direction without meaning to.   

So I use all or parts of this statement to come back to over and over again.

It is an introduction to the concept of visualization.  I want students to visualize what they hear and read.  

It is a reminder that clarity is important.  Say what you mean and mean what you say.

It is a reminder that words have power.  We should use them wisely.  

It is commitment to not only communicate with the minds, but also the hearts, of everyone in the class. 

But most of all, it gives me the starting point for checking for understanding?  Is the meaning (the picture) clear?

I ask students to create a poster (8″x10″ minimum) with that statement.  They keep them in the front of their folders and I post copies of many of them around the room.   As always….students blow me away with their work!!  (Check out samples from some of this year’s 6th graders above and below!)

with love,

Laurie







Creating Community

Creating community is more than a series of activities…..it is a commitment to finding ways for students to support each other.  That is not always easy!  Supporting and encouraging others is not a part of every community that we teach and live in.  It isn’t always a part of our family history, nor the dynamic of our students’ home lives.  

Like everything else we do, it requires patience and a constant series of safe opportunities for student to be a part of.  Once students begin to experience what being part of a community really means, they begin to buy in and often lead the way…..but that can take some time.

My first period class (so far!) seems to be a group that is willing to step up, so I asked them to start something this morning that blossomed throughout the day.   It was the day of our first quiz.  (I try to give some sort of assessment each Thursday because it helps me to plan for the next week.)    The first period group was a little nervous, but no surprise, they felt good about their answers.  

Today’s quiz was really more about teaching them the logistics of taking a test/quiz in a deskless classroom, and to build their confidence about quizzes in the weeks to come.  After the quiz was over, I asked them to share their thoughts about how it went.  They were relieved that it wasn’t too difficult and some of them admitted that they had been pretty worried about it.

So….

I asked them to write “Good luck!” to the next class on the whiteboards that we keep under the chairs to write on.    When the next period came in, each student had a note saying ‘GOOD LUCK!” on the white board under his/her seat.   At first, they were puzzled.  Why did they wish me good luck?  Who wrote it?  Do they know me?  But after a few moments, they began to share their messages with the students nearby and several took pictures to save and send.  

Then they erased the messages and took their own quiz.   Towards the end of the period, a student asked, “Aren’t we going to make Good Luck boards too?”  Of course we were, but I was waiting to see if they would ask…..and they did!!

The last period of the day wrote “Good morning” on their boards and emphatically informed me that next Wednesday they needed to write “Good luck” for the 1st period class to see Thursday morning.

Just a quick, easy, safe way to build community….and yes…I took a quick look at each board before they left the room…..just to be sure all of the messages/drawings were appropriate. :0)  It is middle school after all!

Check out the pictures below! (I wish the one of all 31 of them had turned out!)

with love,

Laurie