Word Nerds: Ch. 2... WOW!!

I don't know what it was about chapter 2, but it has really inspired me. It may be that I finally sat down and paced out my year and focused on a weekly plan for my 1st quarter. I'm really not sure but WOW!! Here are some take aways I got from chapter 2.

This was something I feel like I'm already doing. However, it WAS something I had an issue with! I'm a control freak! I have a certain way I like things, and I like for them to stay that way. When I first started teaching, I had all the supplies hidden in a closet and expected the students to use them ONLY when they asked. After a few years of teaching, I finally decided that I wanted my students to feel a sense of community in my classroom. It's a very laid back atmosphere where anything goes! Now, my supplies are by my front door in labeled containers.

Ummm... hello?!? Do you really need any other rules? These three, simple rules cover the basics to have a class of students ready to learn!

I've always done this. This aligns with the number of multiple exposures students need in order to reach mastery. If they are using and reading it... they are learning it! I try to keep the really BIG ideas up all year.

This was something I was guilty of. I knew we needed to be working with Tier 2 words more, but there wasn't enough time. This year I have even less time because I'm teaching 4 classes instead of 2! But I'm going to make it work!

I'm going to be working on some cute posters/student handouts for these. We will have these posted in kid-friendly terms and the students will have a handout in their binder. I want them to know the standards!

I am all about routines! This part of the book is where a huge bulb went off in my head! If you follow me on Instagram then you probably saw this picture!

I was like... perfect! This is a plan I have right now! Keep in mind, I have not read ahead. I am just on chapter 3. Some things I have in mind may change a bit. I'll be sharing that post tomorrow! You don't want to miss it! How in the world will I fit vocabulary in a 70 minute Reading/ELA block? FIND OUT!

Don't forget to go check out what Ms. Leslie Ann has to say over on Life in Fifth Grade. She's a chapter ahead of me, so I try not to read hers until I have mine done! However, her post on Instagram kind of gave away some things she's planning on doing in her class. They look very similar to what I shared here... great minds DO think alike!