Monday, March 27, 2017

Win for the Day! {Slice of Life Story Challenge}



My room is quiet again and I sit.  I think about our first day back after a week off and I don't feel drained.  I run through my day wondering why I don't feel drained.  It felt good to see each of my students again but we were missing four students.  Missing four students made the day seem a bit odd.  I didn't want to start anything new; some things are hard to recreate.  

We began our day with a find a friend search.  Each student got to share something from their week away from us.  We reviewed ay and ai vowel teams for word study.  Our read alouds were picture books not a chapter book.  The students got to choose which math game to play today for review.  We figured out where we were in our reading and had independent reading.  We had an extra recess as a birthday treat.  We started a backup piece for our writing folders.  I introduced my students to Discovery Education and their first "assignment".    

Maybe this was the best plan for everyone - a day of review and going slow.  I did want to make sure I helped my students make connections.  I made sure I paired students up with different people throughout the day to work with.  I made sure we had opportunities for conversations.  Maybe the key to not feeling drained is to allow the social/emotional side of students be the win for the day!

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for organizing the Slice of Life Story Challenge.

5 comments:

  1. I love this -- it is true we all need to time to "re-enter" after a break. Giving them time to connect, review and make plans is so important. We need it --why wouldn't they. Thank you for sharing -- and posting while I am still awake!!
    Clare

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  2. This is a great way to start the week back. I often have to remind myself to go slow. It is so worth it!

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  3. I love this. I am going to do this when we get back from break although we don't go on break until Friday!

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  4. Making connections, a day of review, and going slow seems to be the best recipe. Congrats to you and your students for a perfect first day back!

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  5. The best part was you still had energy at the end of the day. That's the way to pick up after a break.

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