So 2021 wasn’t the great improvement over 2020 that we all dreamed of. I definitely struggled to blog as much once school started this fall. (Much of my energy was concentrated on an upcoming book…stay tuned).
But we still discussed some important ideas as we shift to what learning can be. Check out the five most popular posts of the year with a bonus post at the end!
My reflection on the January 6th Insurrection at the U.S. Capital building. My hope that there is not a “celebration” of this day by some this coming year.
Rebooting after winter break is a great time to build culture with one or more of these activities.
Honorable Mention:
5 Social Distancing Group Work Strategies actually comes from 2020, but it was the most visited post of the year so check out some ideas for students to collaborate while following Covid 19 safety guidelines.
My Example: See the Slide Notes for brief descriptions.
Selfie Mini-Project
The Selfie Mini-Project is something that we did the first week of school in my 6th grade math classroom. I shared a template in Google Slides with each student through Classroom. I introduce it with the Driving Question: Who am I? I quickly show students the instructions on Slide 2 that tell them what topics to include on each of their 4 slides. The instructions are also listed in the slide notes for an easy reminder.
I then spent 1-2 minutes on Need to Know Questions, and students went to work. I did not teach students how to edit slides. They either already knew or other students helped them out. I did work the room facilitating where needed, but most of the students did not need assistance.
Students enjoyed finding photos of themselves and their families. I gave them overnight to complete it so that they could access pictures at home. It took a day or two for students to create their slides and then a couple of days of sharing out to the class.
Some were obviously nervous but everyone explained their slides to the class without resistance. We all learned a ton about each other. They had pets from cats, dogs, turtles, and guinea pigs to horses, cows, chickens, pigs, and even skunks. Students talked about their families, hobbies, sports, arts, and other activities that they were passionate about.
I also asked students to share how they feel about math. It was important to me to have them share honestly about the subject without judgement. Responses ran the gamut from love to “meh” to hate. Not surprisingly students who said that they were not good at math didn’t like it, and those who found math easy liked it. I too am not very fond of things that I don’t excel at.
This mini-project set the tone to start the year. It demonstrated that I cared about students as a whole. Students practiced Self-Awareness of what makes them who they are. Some kids demonstrated confidence in math and others were hopeful to do better this year.
To be clear, this was not PBL, but a miniature project to introduce them to the structure of PBL (Driving Question, Need to Knows, creation of an artifact, and sharing it in a simple presentation). It did a nice job of acquainting students with some of the lingo and protocols of PBL without overwhelming them with content.
Students enjoyed the Selfie Mini-Project, and it set a positive tone to start the year. Even students who say they don’t like math, started off with a good attitude and were willing to work hard to improve.
But I really didn’t understand the full impact of this activity until parent-teacher conferences last week. Numerous parents thanked me for their student’s progress and attitude toward math this year. They shared about previous struggles in elementary math and how their child was gaining confidence this year. Several of the parents specifically named the Selfie Activity as something that their student enjoyed and helped them start the year off on a positive note.
Culture building is so critical in the classroom. As we approach the busy holidays to end the calendar year, how is your classroom culture? Even though it is the middle of the year, perhaps you might try the Selfie Project to build community in your room?
