The first week of school can be unpredictable, stressful, fun, challenging… all the things!
This year I decided to spend my entire first week on review and group work in my 5th grade math classroom. I wanted to set the tone from the very beginning that our class would be one full of collaboration, teamwork and growth.
I jumped right into a Back to School Math Escape for days 1 and 2. We did not finish this but I didn’t expect to! It was the perfect opportunity to challenge them, get them up and moving around the classroom and working together. I informed them that I would not be providing any assistance unless they’d used the hint card provided, and used every single brain in the group. This allowed me to spend time circulating the room to learn who each student was and how they’d work together. It was also easy to see which students were taking on the role of leader and which ones seemed happy to sit back and let others do the work. This is all really good information to gather up front!
For the second two days, I turned to a Jeopardy-style review game that focused on key 4th grade skills. Students worked in groups chosen by me. Each group HAD to answer, not just the group that picked the category. Each student in each group had their own whiteboard to use. Once everyone in the group solved the problem, they had to collectively agree on one answer (this wasn’t always easy), and help figure out which mistakes were made on the boards they didn’t agree with before they could share out their answer. Everyone has the chance to earn points this way and it encourages (forces?) math discussion and teamwork. They really enjoyed both activities!
The last day was focused on prepping our interactive notebooks using these templates for the year. I know this style of notebook can be considered difficult, but I really believe in the power of keeping kids organized. Plus, in 5th grade I put a huge focus on learning how to take notes to prepare for middle school.
No matter what you do – make it engaging, relevant and focus on the thing that will for sure make or break your room this year – building relationships.
I’m working on a post about my classroom must-haves for organization and decor! You can see lots of it on my Instagram or shop some of my faves on Amazon!
Lindsay
