Rockin' Into a New Year

I am so excited out about our fifth grade theme for this year - MUSIC!!!! After a lot of pondering and brainstorming I have finally come up with my classroom welcome sign. Here it is... drumroll please....

"Welcome to Social Studies, Where Every Kid Can Be a Rockstar!"

This will be my social studies theme for the year. I think it will not only be exciting for the kids, but also fits my educational philosophy. It is my goal that EVERY child that enters my social studies classroom will succeed! My students will get the best of me and I will expect the best of them. My kids will hear me say all year long that ANYONE can be successful as long as they are willing to put out the needed effort. I will promise my kiddos that I will give them my best effort and will explain to them that I expect their best effort in return.

It is my goal this year that all of my students will be Social Studies Rockstars!!!!

Introducing the Interactive Notebook...

This summer I have spent a great deal of time researching and planning for the new school year. Last year, I made a very weak attempt to integrate interactive notebooks into my social studies classroom. Needless to say my notebook idea made it only a couple weeks into the school year before I had ditched it.

This year, armed with much more information and ideas, I am determined to make interactive notebooks work with my students. An interactive notebook is an instructional tool that can be used to help students gain a deeper understanding of the material they are being taught. There are many ways that a teacher can utilize the notebook and they can be tailored to fit any teaching style.

I will use the Left/Right system to set up my student notebooks. The left side of the notebook will be reserved for me. This will be where students will record information that I give to them in class. Anything that is "testable" will be kept on this side. The right side of the notebook will be the students' side. This is where they will take the information that I have given them and do something with it. There are countless suggestions for activities that students can do on the right side of their notebook.

The notebook will include a table of contents and will eventually become a portfolio of what the students have learned throughout the year. The notebook will be organized by unit. For each unit the students will crate a title page. I hope that the notebook will be a great resource that the students can use to study throughout the year and will be very handy when it is time to review for end of the year testing.

I am very excited to see how these will work! Check out my blog list for other teachers who have effectively used these in their classrooms!