As I sit here reflecting on the school year, small moments flood my mind. Walking into my classroom for the first time. Meeting my co-teacher. A student reading to self. Receiving 1:1 iPads. Books with Buddies. Partner reading. The excitement of learning. The moments are endless, however, I am struggling to complete a simple task that I ask my students to complete their first week of first grade.
Why is it that writing about one moment is such a difficult task? So I've decided instead of sitting here beginning my blogging experience about one specific moment in my classroom, rather give a virtual tour of my classroom.
Walking into my room, you would instantly walk into a group of students laying on the floor listening to QR code stories on their iPods. Stepping around the engaged students, you would enter into the classroom library; where students sit on handcrafted Dr. Seuss crate seats, reading authentic texts, making stories come to life through the gift of literacy. Turning left, you enter into the heart of the classroom where, students are spread amongst the room. Some students are partner reading on a very loved, ABC carpet. Other students are sitting on a handcrafted Dr. Seuss chair, sharing small moment stories, expert books or how-to stories to their classmates.Others are sitting at the very loved multicolored tables, as they engage in word work, writing, and fluency activities. Some are searching the crevices of the room, engaging in a differentiated QR scavenger hunt. While the rest of the class huddles around a rather small brown kidney shaped table, where they receive individualized, guided instruction. It may seem like the typical primary classroom, however, it is far from it.
My classroom is a co-taught classroom comprised of 19 students, with 4 students who have IEPs. We are not a typical co-taught classroom, our co-teacher splits her time between Kindergarten and first grade. We begin each day by eating breakfast, taking lunch count and reviewing homework from the previous day. We then move into our reader's workshop, where student's engage in differentiated learning centers, while teachers work with strategy groups on individualized instruction. We then move into a shared reading time, writer's workshop block and math workshop block. The most exciting aspect of my school is that we are a 1:1 technology school district. Each one of my students has a piece of technology. We began the school year with MacBooks and transitioned to iPad minis in December. The 1:1 experience has transformed my classroom, but i'll elaborate more on that in future blogposts.
The teacher I am today and the environment that I have created is created by hundreds, maybe thousands of small moments. Without a small moment, where would our professions, passions and life be?
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