Recently I came across A.J. Juliani's new podcast, Scratch Your Itch. Just to be clear, I am not a podcast girl. I have always liked the idea of them, maximizing my time and learning in places that I wouldn't normally be learning (in the car, waiting at the doctor's office, etc.), but it just never actually turned into something I followed through with. In fact, I have only really listened to a handful of podcasts and the ones I have listened to were about nutrition and healthy eating (another passion of mine) and not education. But I was like you know what, I am going to make the intentional choice to give this a try. Plus I had a feeling that I would enjoy it because A.J. Juliani's ideas and views about learning have always aligned perfectly with my own.

The first Scratch Your Itch episode I listened to was his latest episode where he interviewed Angela Duckworth, best known for her work (and book) on Grit. I am very familiar with Angela's research and really enjoyed hearing her perspective on grit and character in this interview. What really resonated with me, especially in connection with my own research was when Angela reaffirmed that the place to start with students is curiosity and interest. She went on further to explain that children are at the beginning of the learning curve and should sample and explore as much as possible simply because they are getting to know themselves and the world.

Probably my favorite thing that was said during this interview was the quote below.

I love these words for two reasons. First, it is exactly what I believe and what I want for every single student. To feel this sense of accomplishment and value in themselves and their learning. Second, it puts things into perspective that students cannot get to this level of pride and excellence without going through that exploration of curiosity and interests and then making informed choices for themselves as learners. When students find something that aligns with their strengths and interests coupled with constant feedback and practice, that is when they should go all in and that is when the magic happens.
I am so glad that I decided to make the choice to turn on Scratch Your Itch podcast on my way to work in lieu of my usual country music. It was a small choice, a small action, that ended up having a really positive impact on me that day. If you havn't checked out A.J. Juliani's Scratch Your Itch Podcast, I urge you to go do it now.

And also, if anyone has any good podcast suggestions for this newbie, let me know!!

The first day of school is an exciting day for most. It represents a new year, a fresh start, and not to mention my favorite part, brand new school supplies! Most importantly though, it is the first day with students; the students who will be your tribe for the entire year. It is also your very first opportunity to create the culture of your classroom. The relationships that you begin to build on day one are the relationships that will greatly impact not just the culture of your classroom but the teaching and learning as well.

In a recent George Couros post, he writes about 3 Reminders for the Beginning of Schools, one of which reminds us that for some students, school is their happy place. They have waited all summer for this day and are dying to come back! And for others, they may be reluctant, nervous, or even stressed to come back to school. Knowing the mixed emotions that will be happening, it is important to ask yourself, What do you want day one to be like for these students? How will you design day one of school to cultivate relationships, form trust, and most importantly, make your classroom a fun and welcoming place for your students.

I thought I would take the time to curate some of the great activities I have seen or used that make day one less about rules and routines and more about making positive connections with your tribe of learners!

Collaborative Classroom Design
After all, this is going to be their space for the next 180 days! I know it is very tempting to have your room completely done and perfect before the kids walk in (I am so guilty of this when I was a classroom teacher). However, I do think that it is extremely beneficial to give students a voice in the design of the learning space. First day is a perfect opportunity to all get together and brainstorm and decide on the layout of the flexible seating and spaces that work best for them as learners.

Art Project
Get some art on the walls! I absolutely love getting student artwork and creative designs on the walls as soon as possible, why not day one?? Throw on some music and get messy, get creative, and have students create something that represents themselves!

Teammate Interview [Thanks @MrsMarcus5th!]
Have students get to know each other by interviewing a teammate. Then have students introduce each other via FlipGrid or SeeSaw. This is a great way to introduce or re-familiarize tech tools while getting to know each other. Plus, you could share it out later to parents or via class website to introduce your class.

STEAM Challenge
Challenges are always fun. A great way to start off team building from day one is with a fun and engaging STEAM challenge. Working together to strategize and solve problems is also a great way to build trust and relationships between peers.

Sharing Stories
Sharing personal stories with students and having them share stories back will increase the social emotional connection between you and your students. Jump start trust and positive relationships by getting together to just talk and listen. This will show your students that you willing to put yourself out there and it will also show them that you value their experiences and backgrounds as individuals. Share pictures, share summer adventures, share challenges, share fears; be transparent.

Ice Breakers [via Cult of Pedagogy]
Try one of these fun ice breakers that provide students with real topics to talk about and get to know each other, building those relationships right from the start.

Make a Class Video
Tell the students you are going to make a video as a class and let them be the directors. What will this video be? A class song? A Class Introduction video? A class music video?! The possibilities are endless!

Best First Week Ever [@TrevorMuir]
Love the ideas and enthusiasm of Trevor Muir in this video with lots of great ideas to make it the best first week ever for your students!

Worries or Fear [Thanks @MrsHeatherHooks!]
Create a Worry or Fear Box and have students anonymously write their worries or fears in the box. Once you put the worry or fear in the box it goes away! Together you can go over the worries or fears and realize that we are all human and all have things we are worried about but together we will help each other be successful and have fun!

Have a Talent Show
Each one of the students that walk into your room have talents that you may never know about unless you give them opportunities to share and celebrate them. Learn all about your student's amazing talents by having them prepare and plan to be in a first week of school class talent show!


Remember, #relationshipsfirst, the rest can wait! What will your first day be like for your students? What will they experience? What will they go home and tell their parents? Every student deserves an amazing day one!

Everything we hear in education now is 'innovation'; it has become a buzz word that is tagged onto everything sometimes just for the sake of sounding relevant. Now, not to say there isn't true innovation going on in the education world, because there absolutely is. However, my point is that just like a song that we hear one too many times on the radio, sometimes we overuse buzzwords to the point that they become so 'played out' that they lose their merit and they lose their value before we even have time to make any strides towards actually achieving it. So instead of just throwing around the word 'innovation' on everything and anything regardless of if it's truly innovative or not, how about we take the time to seriously reflect on how to get to a place of meaningful and organic innovation.

If our goal as educators is to truly cultivate a culture where authentic innovation is occurring both within our staff and student communities, then we need to first give our staff and students consistent opportunities to create. Creation precedes innovation. Some may argue that creation and innovation goes hand in hand, that one does not precede the other; and once both are an established part of the culture, I think so too. However, without the opportunity and mindset to create, innovation simply does not happen, at least not outside of small pockets. If we want innovation to be the norm, then our students need to be creators every single day.

Create(v.): to bring (something) into existence.

A creator looks at the world through the lenses of problems that need to be solved and questions that need to be answered. We want our students to be more than just isolated consumers. Instilling this type of mentality within our students and embedding it into our instruction will begin to create the type of culture that will ultimately lead to innovation. Design thinking, the maker movement, technology, and project based learning can help support this, but like anything else, it all needs to be grounded into instruction. We want our instructional and social culture to build purposeful creators who create from a foundation of knowledge and empathy.

Students must be given opportunity after opportunity to create. Wrapped together with that, students must also be taught to be problem finders, allowing empathy to lead the way. Two of the biggest struggles that I have experienced with letting students be the creative drivers, is first and foremost letting go of control, and secondly, being okay with students being confused. Just like when students are comprehending a new book for the first time, you have to let them naturally move from confusion to clarity on their own. The same principle applies here. As educators, our first reaction when students are sitting there not able to generate questions or not able to see any problems around them is to be like 'here you go!' 'how about this idea?!", and believe me, I am guilty of that myself. However, if we truly want our students to become strong critical thinkers and develop their own ideas, we need to forfeit the control to do so.

Invest the time in your students and give them the opportunity to struggle and to fail; to become creators. Innovation doesn't come easy, don't short change yourself or your students the time to develop their creative identity. They control their future.

The word YET. A three letter word that could arguably be one of the most powerful word for every student to meet his or her potential as a learner and as a person. It represents a type of mindset where failures are just a part of the learning process. A type of mindset where the process is valued just as much as the end result. But what does this mean for reading instruction?

Through the lens of a reader, the word yet symbolizes a reader's ability to keep all of their questions and wonders that may confuse them now, and acknowledge that they just may not have the answer quite yet. When we are reading, we naturally move from confusion to clarity because that is the way the author designed it. As students move into higher levels of proficiency, they realize that it is okay to not know something yet. They trust in the text, that eventually, the author will reveal the answers to their questions.

However, inexperienced or young readers may not know that this confusion is common and often purposeful by the authors. It is our job as educators to not only model the type of mindset we want our readers to develop, but also provide them with the strategies that will develop the understanding that through the confusion you eventually find clarity.

The question moves to how do we as teachers of reading facilitate being conscious of our thinking about reading without comprehending for them? As teachers it is in our nature to want to clarify things for our students and ask guided questions along the way to make sure they are understanding. However, as we think about how students move from confusion to clarity, it makes you reflect and wonder, are we actually doing the work for them?

It all comes back to students having the type of mentality that allows them to trust in themselves as a reader to be able to value the process of their learning. We want to make sure that we are giving students strategies that begin to make that invisible work of reading visible and empower them as readers. Instilling this type of mindset, not only in our students as individuals, but as readers is something worth pursuing!

For the past couple of months, I have been thinking a lot about my classroom. One thing my former students have always said to me is how much they loved my classroom because of all the bright colors and anchor charts galore. I must say, I do love my classroom. I have put time and effort into making a colorful, literate, creative space for my students to learn in. However, as I sat back and reflected on my classroom there were aspects that weren't working. I am not looking to just update my classroom and make it 'prettier' so to speak (although being a former art major, I do love pretty things and a certain aesthetic). What I really want is to restructure, and redesign my physical and social classroom space that will be optimal for the shift that I want my classroom and my students to take.

I reflected on what I was asking my students to do. I am asking them to be open-minded, critical thinkers. I am asking them to be collaborative learners who share visions and ideas and work together towards common goals. I am asking them to have a growth mindset, and to take risks both academically and socially. I am asking them to be content with failure, and view it as a step forward, rather then a step backward. I am asking my students to not only utilize technology, but to use technology in innovate ways to redefine their learning. I am asking them to have a voice and share their thoughts, opinions, feelings, and knowledge not only with their peers, but with the world around them. I am asking my students to take ownership of learning by making purposeful choices in what and how they learn. I am asking them to be 21st century learners.

So I look at all that I am asking my students to do, and I immediately see changes that I need to make to help them be successful. First I looked at the physical space. How can I ask students to be collaborative learners when I have them in cookie cutter desks that confine collaboration? So the first thing that I did, was ditch the desks! I'll admit, as I was telling my custodian that I wanted all of my desks removed from the classroom I was a little anxious. What if this was a mistake? What if removing the desks is a disaster? But then I thought... what if it isn't? What if removing the desks was the first big step into cultivating the type of environment that my students deserve? It was a risk that I was willing to take! With the change in the type of learning my students are doing, they need to be able to move around freely, to collaborate, to work independently, or to work in small groups as needed.



So now here I am, in the process of walking into my desk-less classroom and redesigning the space to facilitate and mirror the type of learning that I am asking of my students. There are a couple things I have in mind as I have been researching flexible learning environments and creative spaces. My plan is to have creative, comfortable seating and functional areas of the classroom that will foster collaboration. I want it to be fun and colorful and a place that will inspire my students to learn. With the 1:1 initiative in my district, technology will be easily accessible and used effectively in efforts to get students connected and begin to thin the walls of this physical space.

My goal is simple: I just want my classroom to be a place my students want to be. I want them to feel comfortable to both learn and foster relationships. I am still a work in progress and figuring it out as I go. I am working on redesigning a 21st century learning environment and will post pictures of my evolving classroom!