HOW WILL I MAKE 2015 THE BEST YEAR FOR MY STUDENTS?

It is that time of year again…. time to make resolutions for becoming a better you, trying really hard for about two and a half weeks, and then letting life take over and those resolutions go by the wayside…. ugh:( Luckily, I find resolutions for the classroom much easier to keep than decreasing carbs (bread…. I love bread!!!! Want to know what I like with my bread? More BREAD!!!) so even though we are less than half way through the year, this is a great time to take stock and make some goals going forward.

So, how will I make 2015 the best year for my students? Simply, I will continue to ENGAGE! I will continue to get my kiddos out of their seats and help them interact with their learning. Im going to accomplish this in two ways:

1) Simulations and Labs: I’m going to add even more activities into my class to help students experience history. We will continue to act as detectives and solve history's mysteries as well as take part in labs that help reinforce key concepts and let the kiddos understand what daily life was like for people of the past! 

2) Extend their Learning: I have so many kiddos that are begging to be challenged! Technology can truly help me do this. For the rest of the year I need to enrich their learning by continuing to implement my Google Classroom extension assignments, have them play more with video using websites like Zaption and EduCanon, and utilize those amazing phones they have in their pockets for response systems and classroom videos (blog post coming soon on these amazing vocabulary videos we made with their own phones and editing apps of their choice!!!) As usual they taught me a thing or two!

So, comment up people! How are you going to make 2015 the best year ever for your students? I’d love to hear your ideas!!!