Tag Archives: teaching

Fun and Tiring: Reflection on the First Three Weeks

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It’s hard to believe there have been three weeks of teaching already! It both feels like we just started and that we have been back for months. On the first day of school I saw a colleague in the hall and we both commented that it feels so great to be back in the classroom. As my students would say, teaching is my jam. It felt great to be back! The two words that come to mind about the first three weeks are: fun and tiring.

This year I am teaching a course I haven’t taught in 5 years. In that time, there was a significant revision of the scope and sequence. Teaching a new course is absolutely a combination of fun and tiring. It is great to be back with sophomores and it’s fun to look at lesson plans and assessments with a fresh perspective. I’m not as efficient at the grading or lesson planning as I learn the layout of the new curriculum. It has taken me much longer to have my lessons ready to go than it did last year. I also find myself having many more questions for the teachers on my team. Thankfully they are wonderful and very willing to help–even when I texted on the weekend to make sure I had the right answers on a reading quiz!

Last week I led our sophomore retreat, which too was fun and tiring. It is outside for most of the day. The week leading up to the retreat it said rain and possibly thunderstorms. We have never had to create such specific back up plans in case of rain. People joke that in Seattle it rains all the time, but in the 12 years I’ve been at the school we have never had rain on this retreat! It took a lot of extra planning, more coordinating with other adults, and lots of flexibility from people all around the school. The day of the retreat, my boss and I talked at 6:00 am to make the call–we had the retreat outside because the forecast kept pushing the rain back later in the afternoon. The retreat was one of the best we’ve had and the weather was great!! We even got hot chocolate for the kids in the morning which was a big hit! The whole day, and days leading up to it, were so fun, and tiring!

It is definitely nice to feel like I’m getting into more of a grove. And falling asleep at 8:30 pm on Friday night felt great too! Ahhhhh, back to teacher life!

First Week Flipgrid

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My selfie (with stickers) I posted at the end of my video. Students loved adding stickers to theirs

The first week back with students was so fun and so tiring! It’s amazing that even as I start year 14 of teaching, I still forget just how tiring that first week back is until I’m in the thick of it. Then I remember, very quickly.

One highlight of the week was the first assignment my students completed. Each student recorded a video introducing themselves on Flipgrid. Flipgrid is a website that students log into and submit a video of themselves answering a question or sharing insights. Earlier this year Microsoft purchased Flipgrid and made it free for all educators! The questions I had my students answer were: (1) What is your first and last name and what do you like to be called in class? (2) What is one thing you love? and (3) What are three words you would use to describe yourself? I was blown away by how awesome this assignment turned out!

A few highlights

  • The biggest benefit was that in these 15-30
    second videos, I got to know my students more than I have ever been able to do in the first days of school. Their personalities shined through both in their answers and how they recorded the video. There were lots of cameos by pets, siblings, and friends, which were so fun. The words my students chose to describe themselves gave me a lot of insight into their personality and interests. Watching the videos was so fun, and it was evident my students had fun making them! Also, many students watched their classmates’ videos (which was not a requirement) and in doing so were also getting to know each other more.
  • It was so helpful to hear students saying their own name. Now that these videos are done, I can use them to help me learn names this week and I can go back to them later in the year when I need a reminder on the pronunciation of a last name.
  • The videos were easy to make for students. The code to access the assignment made it easy for students to find it. Students can log in with a Microsoft or Google account, or with an email address, which means I could make my assignments only visible if you had the code and logged in with an account from my school.

I am excited to use Flipgrid again for other assignments! It’s a powerful tool to bring student voice into assessments and reflections, especially for those students who may not always want to share out loud in class. I also think it could be a good tool to use with teachers, possibly sharing insights gained from a professional development opportunity.

What are ways you could use Flipgrid with students or teachers?

The First Post!!

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Hello there! I’m Marianne and I love teaching. I love learning about teaching. I love talking about teaching, and schools, and teachers, and learning. I’m in my 13th year of teaching and am still learning more and more each day.

the hubs and I

For the past 13 years, I have taught in high school religion, including World Religions, Scripture, Morality, Church History, and Social Justice. I also help with student life leading activities such as retreats and community service. I love the combination of working with students both in and out of the classroom. Before I had kids of my own, I coached volleyball for many years! It really brought out my competitive spirit, which is not all that hard to do.

As much as I love teaching, I really do love being a student. Over the years I have earned a Bachelors in Theology, a Masters in Secondary Education, and a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership. Although I am done with formal degrees for the foreseeable future, I still love learning. This past summer I took an online class focused on organizing your digital life and LOVED it! Bringing together the worlds of organization, productivity, and technology was my jam!

In this blog, I intend to share thoughts and ideas about teaching, learning, technology, productivity, and other topics that seem valuable to have in the blogosphere. I am passionate about instruction, collaboration, reflective teaching, leadership, and focusing on engagement. I also love reading research on teaching and seeing the practical implications of that research in classrooms and schools.

In a world of so many blogs, I appreciate you stopping by and spending some time here! Feel free to leave me a comment or question. I’d love to hear from you!