Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Brownbag Back to School Blog Hop

Welcome Brownbaggers!  Yep!  It's that time of the year again.  July is coming to an end and August is just around the corner.  It's back to school time already! Can you believe it?!  Teachers around the country are already planning curriculum, designing materials, and collaborating with others.  Some of us never even stopped!
Well we want to help you out with that awkward first day of the semester.  What should teachers do for their first day back?  How do we make it interesting without losing our own sense of pedagogy?  This blog hop will give you a great list of First Day of School Activities that can be put to use in all different classrooms for all different content areas!


So what am I doing you might ask?

I like to start my semester off with some reflection and future telling!  I'm not a big PowerPoint person.  I don't do a ton of front-of-the-classroom teaching as I don't find it conducive to my own teaching style.  Enter Michael Scott's take on PowerPoint.


However, I do like to have a visual of what we will be covering... and no, not just me pointing at them!  So here's a layout of what I cover in my Welcome Back Interactive PowerPoint!

1.  Reflection:  It's important to me that my students are able to reflect on past experiences in similar classes.  I want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!  

2.  Connection:  So why do those past experiences matter for this class? Because they know how they learn best!  As a class we can draw on this knowledge for activities, policies & procedures, and so much more!

3.  Examination:  What do they need to know today?  Together we check out the syllabus and the room set up.  We go over the meatiest info - we like to call this part "Syllabus Day" in higher ed.

4.  Analysis:  Even though we just read through the syllabus, it's important that my students can see the value in it for them at that exact moment.  I have them pick out the 3 most important skills they will learn and argue which will be most useful for them.

5.  Questioning:  I want my syllabus ingrained in my students' heads.  I want them to know how many essays they're writing, what the grading scale is, and what my policy is on late work.  So we make a game about it!  Students testing students!


(click me!)

-> Like my Facebook page and you'll see a tab on the top that says "Freebie Grab Bag!"  (If you don't, it's either because you haven't liked the page or you'll find it under "More").  Click the Freebie Grab Bag tab and you'll be rerouted to free content just for my followers!


Check out what other teachers are doing on their first days back to school by clicking the links below!  You will get PLENTY of tips that you can implement right away!  You'll see the links right below the link up information!
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Link Up Info 

12 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting this blog hop. I can't wait to get some new ideas to start the school year.

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    1. So glad to see all of the great ideas from our TBTS community! Glad to have this chance to collab with all of you :)

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  2. Thanks for setting this blog hop up. It is great to see the perspectives from different levels as well.

    Charlene/Diamond Mom
    Diamond Mom's Treasury

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  3. I put a link to brown bag on my Facebook page K-4 Teaching Resources
    and I liked your FB page!! Thanks again for hosting!
    Debbie
    K-4 Teaching Resources

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  4. I put a link to Brownbag on my Facebook page K-4 Teaching Resources, and I liked your FB page! Thanks again for hosting!
    Debbie
    K-4 Teaching Resources

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  5. I really like the way you're getting the kids to interact with the syllabus and debate its merits and value. I can imagine it helps them take ownership of it and helps them see the whole picture of learning for the year - a great idea! (And thanks for the blog hop!)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Elizabeth! I agree - I don't believe it's our job to hook students but to guide students into hooking themselves.

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  6. Great way to hook the students and get to know their learning styles and preferences! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Thanks for organizing this, Mackenzie! It's great to get to know some new blogs.
    Chrissy
    First Grade Found Me

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