Welcome back!

These first two weeks back at school have been busy and exciting! We have mostly been getting to know one another, as we have some new staff and students in our EES classrooms. We have also been focusing on learning the new classroom routines and expectations. Our students are learning about the daily schedule by sitting at their table groups to go over our large visual schedule, both first thing in the morning and after lunch. Throughout the day some students are asking questions about what is coming up next, so they are learning to reference the schedule during these times. Our days look mostly the same, as predictability and structure helps our students remain regulated, with some changes to the schedule if we have gym or music class. We have been impressed with how well the students have been doing when coming together as a whole group to do our calendar time! From day one the students have understood the expectations around sitting as a group in front of the Smartboard- WOW! 

Because almost all of the students are new to me, I am getting to know where they are at with their skills, and gradually introducing some academic tasks into our day to see what the students can do. Again, I am impressed with how all of the students are following their schedule and completing their work when asked! We have also done a few art activities and all about me learning activities this week. The students traced their hands and could draw, write, or glue on pictures of things they like. We will be putting the hands on the bulletin board outside our classroom doors so other students within the school can learn more about our students. 

   

Lastly, I wanted to share a program we will be incorporating into our literacy learning this year called predictable chart writing. It is a shared group writing activity with many entry levels, so it is accessible for students wherever they are at to be engaged in the writing process. This week we watched a music video (Old MacDonald), and then the students took turns picking an animal out of a toy barn. We wrote a story together about the animals we found on the farm. After modelling how to write my sentence, the students took turns helping me write their sentence. Every day of this program has different activities related to writing. To learn more about predictable chart writing check this out:

http://literacyforallinstruction.ca/shared-writing/

*You may notice I have posted photos with unidentifiable names and faces. Once I have returned consent forms to post student photos I will use the blog to regularly post student work and pictures of the students engaging in activities at school.