My friend, who also happens to be our school librarian, called me the other morning to tell me about something overheard at the gym. A former teaching colleague of ours who subs was asked which rooms she likes to sub in. I guess mine was one that she named and she said, "Her students could run that class themselves, they know exactly what to do."
That got me to thinking....and I think she is right. I could probably not show up for school tomorrow and my students would know exactly how to proceed with our day! There are so many routines that we have and for many students that predictability is extremely helpful. So...it sparked an idea for a new blog series...Weekly Routines That Make Life Easier. I am going to share with you the routines that we go through on given days throughout the week that really help me stay organized, keep our class running smoothly, and keep students on track to meet their third grade learning goals!
Monday: Weekly Agenda
One of the things we have heard from the fourth grade teachers at our school is that our kiddos come to them and struggle with the increased independence and responsibility. In fourth grade they start using agendas and students are required to write in them daily. In third grade we have always typed out a weekly calendar and put it in our students' Take Home Folders. To help ease that transition we have switched to a Weekly Agenda.
Each Monday, I help students fill in the front side of the agenda. We write down the standards we will be covering for the week. Eventually I would like to move to having the students copy the learning targets from the board for this part. Students write the name of the book they are working on for A.R. to help their parents hold them accountable for reading each night and it helps me make sure they are making progress in their books.
The next part of the agenda is their Weekly Academic Vocabulary. Right now I am typing this in for them, but the goal is to have students start writing this part as well.
There is also a progress check where I can let parents know if their child is missing any assignments from the previous week. My grade book is up to date by Monday morning each week.
The back side of the Weekly Agenda is probably my favorite part. It has space for students to write in any reminders, like tomorrow is P.E. or field trip permission slips are due. But, my all time favorite spot is for our daily reflections. We do a lot with growth mindset in our classroom and I think it is so important for students to reflect every day on what they did well and what they need to work on for the next day.
This part of the agenda is a work in progress and I love to see how much students improve at self reflection throughout the school year!
Ready to try a Weekly Agenda in your classroom? You can grab an editable version on my Weekly Agenda for FREE!
Just click HERE! I'd love to hear how it's working in your room or see some examples of your students' reflections! If you post a picture be sure to tag me @theblessedteacher on Insta or @TheBlessedTeach on Twitter so I can check it out!
