We’re back! Students returned to school this past Thursday. The sixth graders entered with a mix of anxiety and excitement. The first few days of school are usually dedicated to building routines and fostering community and this year was no different, although I did change up a few things compared to previous years.
Day 1
This year students entered the classroom and picked their own seats. We have new classroom furniture, so the students were excited to choose something different from last year. I collected school supplies from the students and made introductions. The class then headed out to the hallway along with the other sixth graders so students could practice their locker combinations and organize supplies. Once we returned to the classroom we started our name tent activity. I’ve used for many years as a way to get to know students and build a positive rapport first thing. The prompt for the first day focused on events that happened over the summer 2024. After about 15 minutes we moved on to creating classroom norms. Our standard norms are: be alert, be kind, and be respectful. These are schoolwide expectations. By the time we finished discussing norms the bell rang and students headed to their second period.
Day 2
Students began the day by completing the second day of name tents with a prompt related to a hidden talent they have. We reviewed the norms we discussed yesterday and showcased a examples. Then we had a discussion about whiteboard work and Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) activities. Students were randomly placed in groups using playing cards and began their first BTC task of the year: “In how many ways can 105 be expressed as the sum of at least two consecutive positive numbers?” I unpacked the vocabulary and students worked on this task for about 15 minutes. It was a non-curricular task for our first BTC and students had to demonstrate math stamina as they found two, three, and even four numbers that summed to 105. After completing the whiteboard task we came back together for consolidation. Students took pictures of their whiteboard work and saved the files in Notability. They then filled out a reflection task and afterwards we reviewed the norms again. The bell rang and the students left. The class will start unit 1 next week.
I’m looking forward to the new year ahead but certainly glad to have the weekend to recharge.
Educational Aspirations 