Setting up the Workshop

"There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings." Hodding Carter Jr.

These past few weeks of school have been my attempt to give students "roots". We have been building our classroom community and developing our procedures for workshop. These past few weeks we have been getting to know each other as readers, writers and learners. The notebook has been our textbook, and we are writing it as we go along.

One of my favorite activities was our class discussion on classroom expectations which revolve around respect, responsibility and safety. The guiding question was. "What do you need in order to learn?" Students were asked to jot down their ideas of what their learning environment should look like in their notebook. Then in small groups, students shared and added to their lists. Finally, each group submitted their unique ideas to the class and created their own posters which are now prominently displayed in the classroom and constitute our classroom rules.

These student developed expectations have helped to unify us as a learning community, giving students a stake in their own learning. this activity also set the tone for further learning in our classroom - student centered authentic learning, a focus on issues and concerns that matter most to students and student voices matter. Looking forward to witness students' learning taking flight!