WEEK 5 - CONNECTION

This past week we were able to move into the new school and begin connecting!!!  This has been the highlight of the week!  Interacting with my classes and getting to feel of the culture of each class and how to gear my teaching towards the culture of each class has been awesome.  I've missed it and grateful to have that interaction with these incredible students.  One of the best ways I am able to connect with my students every year is through the power of stories.  When I tell stories in class, there is always a purpose and it will always connect with what we will learn over the span of 3-5 lessons.  It is intentional and purposeful.  Harvard University published a great article outlining the power of stories in the academic setting (see link below).  As we move forward into weeks 6 & 7, we will be learning about European Exploration and the reasons for it (God, Gold, Glory and Greed), the Slave Trade and the Columbian Exchange.  The stories I tell in class correlate with and reenforce what these lessons will teach us.  As we wrap up our first unit on Monday & Tuesday of next week (September 30th and October 1st), students will be presented with a menu of FIVE (5) essay options that they can do for their Unit 1 Final.  Students will only select ONE (1) of the essays to do and it will be entirely up to them as to which one they do.  This, too, is intentional and the power of student choice in the classroom has been well studied and documented.  Enjoy the readings below : )

HARVARD: THE POWER OF STORYTELLING

WAYS TO BOOST STUDENT ENGAGEMENT