This week I had my first day of school, though it wasn't with my students at Athens Area High School, I did have the opportunity to share it with my cohort members. The excitement of a new year with new adventures awaiting still filled the room, the difference you ask? Well this year all eight of us girls were the teachers this time, making our first day experience a little different.
Every student remembers the excitement of reuniting with your friends after a long summer away, seeing who you have lunch or study hall with, and finally seeing your favorite teacher you have missed all summer. For teachers, your first day of school sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Not only are you sharing what content students will be learning throughout the year, but what expectations you have for them while in your classroom. For my student's I used the framework "The 3 R's in Miss. Royer's Room", this idea came from my elementary school principal Mrs. Zmyslo.
Each "R" stands for a key expectation I have when my students come into my classroom. I want them to be Ready, Respectful, and Resilient for each day's lesson. These "Rs" are then further broken down into what that looks like to me as the teacher. Being Ready means to come in and find your seat, turn in your homework, and make sure you are completing the daily bellwork. Ready could also be considered my classroom procedures, what I would like them to do at the beginning and end of class. Respectful is seen as being quiet and listening while others are speaking, being respectful of the differences in my classroom as well as the materials we use for our lessons. Lastly, resilience in my classroom is asking questions, giving 100% with all that you do, and being willing to step out of your comfort zone.
These are all created with the goal to not only ensure my students are ready to learn in a safe and healthy environment but also help them practice skills they will need outside of the classroom and beyond high school. Beyond the content taught in my classroom, I want each of my students to know that they are my first priority as well as their success so I concluded my lesson with one of my favorite movie quotes. It is from the movie The Help, and I believe regardless of what my students are going through or where they go after high school this lesson will always serve as a reminder. Aibileen shares with Mae Mobley this saying every morning when she wakes up "You are Kind, You are Smart, You are Important". I hope my students if nothing else they know they are valued, capable, and believed in and Agricultural Sciences is just the vehicle I use to prove to that to them.
I created a powerpoint for the lab to deliver my expectations so it would be easily accessible for our Zoom student or cohort members. It can also be posted to schoology or google classroom for my students to access whenever they need to. My biggest take away from this lab would be that I was able to manage my time as well as cover the content I needed to. I anticipated going over time but thankfully I was able to stay on pace and cover every aspect of my lesson that I wanted to hit. For next time, I feel as though I need to work on my interaction with my class. I have found that due to social distancing I tend to bounce in one place, finding ways to move around the class while being socially distant is something I would like to improve upon. Another area of improvement would be getting more accustomed to technology, this week unfortunately my lab recording does not have sound. Getting used to different technologies and proper set up are areas I hope to improve throughout the semester. But as I had shared with my "students" in the lab we all make mistakes, that is why pencils have erasers! :)
Nice job, Megan. It was great to see you teach. I really liked the way you presented your "3 R's" both in lab and via the blog. You did a nice job seeing the expectations and procedures for the class. I look forward to a great semester.
ReplyDeleteDr. Ewing
Megan, I thought that your lab and reflection were great! In your lab, I loved that you had inspirational quotes. While I am not a huge quote person, I found the ones that you shared to be inspiring and motivating. Each one related to the topic you were discussing which I found really beneficial. I also really enjoyed your awesome PowerPoint, as you taught the whole cohort a thing or two about fun/new slide designs!!
ReplyDeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your lab, and I will probably try to incorporate a more fun and easy way of remembering classroom expectations like you did in my future classroom. I also liked the idea of sharing a quote or some kind of positive affirmation with the students on the first day to be beneficial. I think the technology issue can be easily resolved with practice, which is why we are using it now in our labs so that we can be ready for the spring. I believe this is also the case with student interaction and moving around the classroom, the more we practice now the better prepared we will be for spring. Great blog post!
Hi Megan,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your lesson! I found you to be super engaging and welcoming, and I really enjoyed how you chose to represent your expectations. I think that referring to your expectations as the three R's keeps them simple and easy to remember/comprehend for the students. I also just liked the style of your presentation, in general; thanks for sharing slidesgo with all of us, I've already been utilizing it!