Everything listed here is just a suggestion:
To start the year, we can ask ourselves if we have addressed these (optional) things:
1. Wall Posters (see Resources/Posters on this site for a complete list) including:
- Word Wall
- blank big post-its or butcher block paper up, empty, to eventually become a Verb Wall of “acquired” verbs
- Question Words
- Classroom Rules
- jGR poster – for those using it
- Spelling Poster – for those using it
- Place Posters – for those using them
- Student Refection Checklist – for those using it
- Teacher Reflection Checklist – for those using it
- Metacognition Poster – for those using it
- Rigor Poster – for those using it
2. Have read any posts we want to under the Beginning the Year category – there are a lot – to remind us of all the stuff we discussed this past year and thought about implementing this year.
3. Start our year with the activities suggested in various places (here, books, etc.) to start the first few months before doing stories. Remember – the goal now is to get the rules set up and to personalize the classroom, and that is what these activities do, although some of us are going to be bringing in stories a lot sooner than in the past in this 2015-2016 year. Descriptions of some of these activities are also located on the TPRS Resources page of this site, then click on TPRS Workshop Handouts and then on Ben Slavic Storytelling Handouts for descriptions of:
- Word Association
- Circling with Balls
- One Word Images
- Word Chunk Team Game
- Questionnaires
4. Consider how early you want to introduce reading in connection with the above activities. Some of us are already writing up readings taken from these early activities. Others will wait until starting stories do do reading. Everything suggested here is only that – a suggestion.
5. Have your bail out moves ready. Dictée, of course, is the big one, but there are others at:
- https://benslavic.com/blog/2011/10/30/water-wings/
- https://benslavic.com/blog/2008/03/01/plan-b/
- https://benslavic.com/blog/2012/06/18/recalcitrance/
- https://benslavic.com/blog/2012/01/13/bailin-2/
(Whenever I need to bail out early in the year, I often go to OWI. It is easy to get going and ensures 100% CI. OWI often turns into great extended images and even stories. When a teacher new to comprehension based instruction uses OWI, and when they work their way up to asking where the image is, the teacher gets a feel for the potential in this approach particularly with that where question. It’s a safe calm activity for those first days when things can get a bit shaky. Find the prompt list for OWI on the posters page under “Useful Information” – https://benslavic.com/Posters/one-word-image-prompt-list.pdf)
6. Don’t forget this great idea from Nathan for upper level classes who have already done the Circling with Balls activity:
https://benslavic.com/blog/2012/08/21/starting-the-year-out-with-postcards/
7. Our readiness to contact parents of kids who cannot a) behave b) make the switch over to our right brain/whole brain learning envrironment.
Am I missing anything?
