New Year New You?

Kevin Polanco, Seek Academy

You made it! 2019 has come to an end and all of us teachers are feeling renewed, invigorated and ready to start the new year off on a positive note. A common saying that we’ve all heard is “new year, new me!” But is that true for us teachers? In fact, it may not be. Often as teachers, we focus on trying to re-invent the wheel after long breaks, we rearrange seats, we come up with fun classroom brain breaks, and maybe even change what the classroom looks like by adding new themes. Fresh starts are important for many reasons, but just as important, is using the new year as a time to revisit the basics. By taking ourselves back to the beginning of year we can refocus on what we thought was important in the first few weeks of school. 

During those first few weeks we wanted to make sure that our routines and systems were tight, and that students knew what to expect during the school day. Revisiting classroom expectations doesn’t have to be boring or nagging! Get creative! One way you can do this is to have students write or draw kids following classroom expectations. This is powerful because students must think reflectively to come up with concrete pictures or thoughtful writing.

Another fun way is to let students work in small groups and act out different scenarios of people following classroom expectations. You can also have a group act out not following expectations and have the class help them do things correctly. As silly as role play might sound, it really does work!

Finally, revisit the classroom expectations you made as a group in August. Make sure these expectations are still applicable. You might want to have a brainstorming session with your students to see if you need to make any changes or add any new expectations!