The DNA Strand here was part of a combination of origami segments made by students from both 8A and 8B.

One of the things that I pride myself on is my progress in building a good learning community in my classroom. In looking at the videos from earlier lessons, I see that though I had good rapport with students, their level of comfort was certainly not where it is now. In my most recent round, I saw that students really got into participating because the questions for MCAS starters were easily visible and clearly meant for practice. I framed it like they could try it on their own and also ask people around them.

Among the strategies that I have developed for my classroom is to put my love of art into my lessons. In the picture above, you can see an origami DNA lesson that students worked on. It is also an engaging hands on activity that appeals to different modes of learning. Other ideas are more passive, like utilizing technology so I can do checks for understanding. I have set up assigned seats as a default, while still allowing for frequent group work each day. I use movement and include subjects that I am passionate about. A lot of the things that I have added to my lessons are things that I love to learn about and have repurposed from outdoor education. The result is a community that likes the fun activities and also learns from it.

Below is a video of a practice I am trying to reinforce: identifying moments where people are being negative and calling it out when it happens. I think competition, though not even part of the project, caused people to criticize each other’s work. Bullying has been an issue in our grade, with one incident, but overall has been very minimal. The teachers here make great efforts to improve the characters of students.

Next Up: Reflection on Growth