new year, students

It’s Not the First Day That Is the Most Important – It is All the Others

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
image from icanread

August is upon us and I cannot help but giddily count down the days until the very first day of school.  Call it the curse of the teachers: we are still on vacation but our minds are drifting back to school weeks before we actually have to be there.  I cannot wait to see what this year will hold.  I cannot wait to figure out what we will do the first day of school.  I cannot wait to see what the students will think of me.

As much as I worry about that very first day of school and what we should do, I have started to realize that although the first day is important – first impressions always are – it is really what comes after that very first day that sets the tone for the rest of the year.

Students expect an exciting first day.  They, themselves, are often nervous and filled with energy, ready to see their friends, ready to hear what the year will hold, ready to meet their teacher.  That energy bubbles into a classroom and sustains it for the day.  That energy is contagious.  We do fun things, we set the tone, we explain and explore, and I always end with a challenge.  At the end of the day, I am exhausted and exhilarated, ready for an amazing year.  And I hope my students go home and tell their parents that 5th grade will be an incredible year.

Yet for me it is the next day that the true tone is set for the year and the days after that.  When the energy is diminished, students are starting to realize that summer is over and school is back.  Some have realized that they are more nervous than they thought and some may have even realized that their teacher is not what they thought they would be.  That is when we start to make our true impression.  When we no longer have time to do the fun beginning of the year activities, when we start to feel the pressure of everything we have to get done, when students start to show their true personalities, that is when the tone is set for the year.  That is when the students start to see who we really are and how we really will be as a teacher.

Anyone can fool kids for a day.  But no one can fool kids for a whole year.  So I ask you not what you are doing on the very first day but instead, what are you doing the rest of the week?  The rest of the month?  The rest of the year to set the tone?  That is where we should  be focusing our efforts.

I am a passionate 5th grade teacher in Middleton, Wisconsin, USA, proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day.  First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classroom Back to Our Students Starting Today” will be released this fall from PLPress.   Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

Uncategorized

Goodbye Blogger – Hello WordPress

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

 

For 3 years I have faithfully loved Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension on Blogger and yet I have come to a point where I need a little more out of my platform to make it more user friendly.  So last week I made the switch to WordPress, you may have noticed, or you may follow this through an RSS feed and not have noticed.

So if you formerly subscribed via Blogger, please consider subscribing to my WordPress blog now.  It is still me and my thoughts.  Still me and my honesty.  It is still me and my hopefully decent ideas, just on WordPress.

And while I successfully was able to transfer my domain name, my victory dance was short-lived as  I have run into complications, therefore my website is now www.pernillesripp.com – however, http://www.pernillerippp.com should also take you where you need to go.

I hope to see you on WordPress.

building community, classroom setup, new teacher, new year

Some Ways To Show My Students They Matter

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

This year we start the first day of school with a first day of school.  And while there will be no orientation day, no meet and greet, I still want them to feel that excitement of a new year, a new room, a new group of kids, and definitely a new teacher.   I want them to know that I am so happy to teach them, because I am!  So I have been thinking of little ways I can show them how much they matter, feel free to add more in the comments.

  • The welcome letter – I spend a lot of time crafting this letter because I want them to get to know me a little bit, get excited about the great things we will explore, and for them to feel welcomed.  I change it every year, but here is last year’s letter as an example.  (Don’t mind the atrocious picture quality, I had to compress the file).
  • The book bins – Every student will have a book bin waiting for them with books carefully selected from last year’s students.  On each book is a post-it note explaining why the book was chosen and how much they loved it.  I hope this makes my new students excited about reading.

    Student created book bins with selected books
    Student created book bins with selected books
  • The letters from former students – each student also has a handwritten letter from my old students giving them tips on 5th grade, insider information about “surviving” their new teacher, and things they can look forward to.  I love the care my old students take to welcome the new students even though they are not at the school anymore.  (And I keep these letters every year after the new students have read them).
  • Pencils with messages – these don’t show up for a few weeks as I get to know them but I love leaving small messages on number 2 pencils.  Why buy them pre-printed when you can write exactly what you want with a sharpie?

    messages on pencils from last year
    messages on pencils from last year
  • Purchasing their favorite picture books – I have been on a picture book binge this summer – they are just so absolutely fantastic.  So what better way than to expand my library then by asking my students what their favorite picture book is and then surprise reading it aloud for them at some point?  I cannot wait to make this a reality, even if it means spending more of my own money on books.
  • The precepts – we finished last year sharing “Wonder” and I asked my students to write precepts for how to love 5th grade.  They did and these will be welcoming my new students in the hallway leading to our room.
  • The family picture – Someone smart (and if it was you please let me know so I can give you credit) wrote about how they would have students bring in a family picture to leave in the classroom all year.  I love this idea!  So I will ask every child to bring in a special picture (or photocopy of one) and then we will make a display out of all of them for the whole year.  I want the students to feel this is is their room as much as mine right from the beginning.

I am sure as summer winds down there will be more ideas, but for now I am excited about these.  What will you be doing?

Related articles
new teacher, new year, parents

My Beginning of the Year Parent Questionnaire

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
Two of my three kids; and that's who this is all about
Two of my three kids; and that’s who this is all about

Yesterday I shared my student questionnaire so I find it only apt to share my parent questionnaire as well.  While there are so many things I wanted to ask my parents, I wanted to keep it short and to the point.  As always, feel free to make a copy and make it your own.

Here is a link to the actual form

Here are just the questions on the form:

Tell Me A Little Bit About Your Child

  1. What is the most important thing I should know about your child?

  2. What is your child passionate about?

  1. What would you love your child to get better at?

  1. Overall how does your child feel about school and 5th grade?

  1. My child learns best when the teacher is….

  1. Great friends for my child are ….

  1. My child does not work well with…

  1. What is your child’s favorite book?

  1. What fears does your child have?  (Big or small)

  1. What is the best way to motivate your child?

Tell Me A Little Bit About You and Your Family

  1. What are you looking forward to with 5th grade?

  1. How would you like to be involved with your child’s education?

  1. What is your preferred method of communication (email, phone call, meeting, note…)

  1. Does your family have any special celebrations or traditions you would like to share with the class?

  1. What subject/area did you dislike when you went to school?

  1. What subject/area did you love when you went to school?

  1. I think 5th grade will be….

  1. A typical afternoon after school looks like this in our life…

  1. Who else lives at your house (siblings, pets etc.?)

  1. Anything else you would like to tell me that will help me make this a successful year?

 

Reading

What the #Nerdybookclub Taught Me About Reading

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

I have always been slightly nerdy, ask my oldest friends and they will tell you stories of eye rolls whenever I discussed the latest sci fi flick I couldn’t wait to see.  Or get me started on a favorite author and watch.  I haven’t ever been a geek, I would have to be really good at math for that, but a nerd, that I could embrace.  My adulthood didn’t change my nerdy ways but only sophisticated them.  I could now pass ubernerdy things of as cool and stand behind them tall.  And when being a nerd became kind of cool, I was so nerdy, that even my husband still laughed a little bit at me when i got too out there.

So when I fell into the Nerdy Book Club I knew I was at home.  All of these book lovers in one group, oh and the hashtag and the chats; I was home.  And yet even I could not have realized how much the Nerdy Book Club would change me and the way I teach.

So The Nerdy Book Club taught me that

  • It is okay to get really, really excited about a book and want to give it to everyone I meet.  I am thinking of you “The One and Only Ivan.”
  • It is ok to want to talk books with friends, even if those friends are 20 years younger than you.
  • It is ok to bring in my books to school and perhaps sneak a chapter or two during recess.
  • It is ok to weed out my library and finally get rid of the books that no one has touched, no one will touch, and to give them to others who might.
  • It is ok to not do book talks.
  • It is ok to not do whole group books unless it is so deep and so rich that the whole class will actually stay engaged.
  • It is ok to tweet out pictures of new books you have received because you are so gosh darn excited about reading them.
  • It is ok to tweet authors and hope they will respond to you.
  • It is ok to have your class tweet authors and hope even harder that they will respond to them.
  • It is ok to have a pile of books beside your bed that never quite seems to diminish and yet entices you to sit down and read every time you pass by it.
  • It is ok to change from a clothes shopaholic to a bookaholic as long as you don’t go broke.
  • It is ok to watch your home library start to bleed into your classroom library because some of your kids are ready for a bigger challenge.
  • It is ok to do book challenges as long as they do not suck.
  • It is ok to not love a book and tell students that.
  • It is ok to make book trailers rather than book projects.
  • It is ok to think books, breathe books, talk books even if no one is listening or cares.
  • It is ok to have the reading taste of a 5th grade boy.
  • It is ok to think that reading and loving books is the most important thing we can ever model for our students and our own children.

Thank you Nerdy Book Club

 

Related articles

Reading

Creating Great Summer Reading Plans

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

I have never before cared about what my students read over the summer, sure, I cared whether they were reading or not but I figured it was no longer my duty to ensure they had great books to read.  I certainly never assigned reading over the summer and would never do that.  This year though with our  increased passion for reading, my students have been telling me they just are not sure what to read and asked for my help.  So behold; what we will be doing in the final weeks of school to create massive reading lists with awesome book suggestions for each student.

First of all; this is by choice.  I am not dictating what students should read but simply creating opportunities for them to get as many recommendations as possible.  Second of all; they will be making a list of possible books they would love to read and this list will be passed to parents, but I will not be checking up on them.  There is no incentive, no punishment, no have to.  Just hopefully a way for them to continue to stay passionate about reading.

So in the next few weeks, we will:

    • Start out with our initial reading plan survey.  This gave me an idea of where students are at with their ideas for what they will read and also gives me something to compare to at the end.
    • Continue our speed book dating – 1 minute per partner as students recommend books to each other.
    • Try the teacher book dating as detailed by this awesome post by Colby Sharp.  In fact, I brought in my stack of to read books from home so that they can add those to the mix as well.
  • Skype with other classrooms to get book recommendations.  Short, simple Skype calls where 5 students each get to do a short book recommendation of either a favorite book from this year or a book they are currently reading.  I have asked students to think of the audience as we may be skyping with other grade levels than 5th.  If you want to Skype with us please fill out the contact form located on the right!
  • Collect all ideas in our note book so that we can create a master list that can be typed up and emailed/printed.
  • Continue tweeting out our book recommendation survey on Twitter and checking in to see which books people are recommending there.  If you haven’t taken it – please do!
  • Watch the Scholastic fall preview trailer – it may be for the fall but some of these books come out in August.
  • Interview teachers around the school for their favorite young adult books.
  • Read several book recommending blogs connected through our Kidblog account.
  • Create an Animoto sharing our reading plan with the word and posting it on our blog.  Thanks for the great idea Shannon from Van Meter – here is the post she wrote!