By the time some of you read this it will be really old news….but here goes!!
Day 1 of Year 35 completed!!!
As you saw by my earlier post….my classroom is bare bones right now.
I have added the following:
1. Posters of the Super Seven in the past/present from Scott Benedict at Teach For June.
2. A calendar with the days of the week, months of the year.
3. Posters with colors.
4. Two Sr. Wooly posters (Billy La Bufanda, Soy Guapo and Puedo Ir al Baño)
5. A world map.
Not much really!!!!
Except for this:
If you look closely, you will see cards behind each card:
It is my magic attendance poster!!!
Confession #1: I am HORRIBLE at taking and reporting attendance.
So, on Thursday, I taught all of the kids to grab their name from the poster in the back of the room as they come in and bring it up to the front and hand it to me. (If their name is NOT there then they bring me a blank card and I know to check the roster for schedule changes etc.)
This way I get to connect with every kid on their way in the room!!! (If their name is NOT there then they bring me a blank card and I know to check the roster for schedule changes etc.)
The first day, I asked students their names. They could a) just show me the card. b) say their name or c. Say Me llama and their name. (Right away I could show them that they will respond in a way that is comfortable for them!) This way I didn’t have to try to figure out the pronunciation of names and I asked if they had a nickname that they preferred. I also asked them if I had spelled it correctly. It was quick, personal, and easy!!
It is very easy to see who is not here because each class roster uses a different color marker. Before I submit attendance, I can see if any names are left on the board in a flash!!
Confession #2: I messed it up 4/6 times on Thursday!! I forgot to hit “Submit”. So THAT was the first Student Job assigned on Friday. Friday I didn’t miss it once!! And….check out the next post for the Day #2 story!!
Other benefits: I now have the cards for each student in my hand. I can use those for “random cold-calling” for games etc. I can have a student put them back (in the back of the pile each period) or do it myself later in the day.
PS You will see numbers on the bottom of the cards. They stand for Spanish 1 or 2, the period of the day, and a count of how many students in the class. Just little helpful things for me.
This was a great way to start things off!
with love,
Laurie
