First Year Visionary: A Flashback...
A place of real talk, encouragement and tips.
A Quick Flashback.
I still remember standing in Room 26 five minutes before the first period- whiteboard pristine, lesson plan color- coded, heart pounding louder than that morning's announcements. Thirty minutes later the projector froze, Mateo burst into tears over a lost marble and my "engaging opener" took exactly two minutes instead of ten! No university syllabus, PD slide deck, or Pinterest board had prepared me for that kind of whiplash
Your First Lesson Plans May Implode: Pivoting is YOUR first lesson.
Truth Bite: The tighter your script or lesson plans, the faster students will break it. But its ok... because you will be prepared!
Visionary Check:
Children/Students will often finish a task in half the time, the Wi-Fi may blink out, or a Fire Drill will highjack the period. Lesson plans are not useless, although somedays may feel like it, but flexibility and preparedness are what will make your teaching successful. And keep you sane!
Quick Pivot Move
Always keep at least two stretch activities on sticky notes on hand. (More on stretch activities to come) One collaborative and one independent. When you need to expand or stretch time you can slap that note on the board and roll. You will have what you need to keep early finishing students busy and continue to teach and practice that day's learning objectives. Also, you will breathe easier knowing you're ready for any' surprise.
Some teachers are known to grab a stretch activity and use it instead of the original activity after reading the room that day and noticing student energy won't mesh with original lesson plans. This may sound like some extra work at first but when you are prepared for surprises and able to pivot, your day will go much smoother, and you will have many more WINS from the beginning.
Relationship Building is Important
Truth Bite
Students don't learn from adults they don't trust. Also, you need to know your students to be able to do the best for them!
Visionary Check
You can post objectives, differentiate instruction, and do all the things. But you will still see the engagement flatline if the student feels unseen.
Easy Trust Builder Move
Commit to a two-minute desk chat with three different students daily. Do no ask about grades or schoolwork. Ask about interest, goals, or weekend plans. Track names and nuggets in a notebook so you can reference them later. Make this your habit, your second nature and you will see the difference in your classroom, your student's success and student moral.
Procedures ARE curriculum zero: Here is how to really go about it.
Truth Bite- Every transition you teach in August will return minutes to you in May.
Visionary Check
Average elementary teacher loses 45-60 minutes a day to fuzzy routines. Thats a full month of instructional time by spring break. Plus, fuzzy routines make transitions exhausting for you!
Procedure Hack
Teach, model, rehearse, time, and praise one routine per period. Yes, we said time. Students love to beat the clock. When the stopwatch shows they can do it in under a minute for three days in a row they you can cement it and move on.
Visionary Super Hack!
This is a game changer for transitions and saving your voice. Instead of 1,2,3, look at me, invest in a classroom doorbell! Yes we said doorbell. You may go online and find a Wireless Doorbell with customizable chimes and hassle free installation for about $10 dollars. It will come with a remote you can attach to your lanyard and when it is time for different transitions you simply ring the bell with the matching chime. It has been a game changer for many teachers!
