Little and Big Moves that will BE THEIR DIFFERENCE this year!
Whether you are a first year teacher or veteran teacher, whether you are starting a new grade level or teaching the same grade you’ve always taught, I bet you have changes on your mind.
With each new school year we keep what works, change what wasn’t working, and possibly add new ideas. We make little moves in our classrooms all the time, and sometimes we make BIG moves!
Little Moves
Little moves are when we tweak things a bit, or try a new lesson, activity, craft. Little moves can also be new center ideas, new read alouds, new ways to communicate home.
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BIG MOVES
BIG MOVES are when you learn a new curriculum to follow, change your teaching style or pedagogy. These moves can be a bit more scary, they are outside of the box ideas. They are often moves that other teachers won’t try.
BIG MOVES might include: Inquiry-Based Learning, Mastery Learning, Co-Teaching, Project-Based Learning. These moves change how you teach.
Need some training? Teach Better Academy has you covered!
Want to slow down and focus on Developmental Growth? I’ve got you covered!
You can earn credit hours for taking time to learn about some of these big moves that you want to make in your classroom! Check out some of the options here!
How to make little and BIG moves in the classroom.
Consider your Audience
- Who is your audience?
- What do they want?
- What do they need?
Who is your audience?
The answer to this question may be different for each of you. Is it your students? Your grade level team? Your administrators? Who are you making these “BIG and little moves” for?
What do they want?
Have you asked them what they want? This might mean reading through the end of the year survey that you sent home or had your students fill out. Maybe you need to reflect on a conversation that you had with your team or your principal. It could be knowing your incoming class and their interests. Sometimes we take time the first week to ask our students, “What do you want to do or learn this school year?”
What do they need?
You are the experts! You know what they need to learn. You know their developmental stage. You may have a stack of IEP’s to read through.
You know what they need.
A good reminder is simply slowing down to reflect on this questions:
- What matters most at this stage in the learning process.
- How can I reach this group of kids?
- What do they need in order to learn?
Making the “moves”
How to decide what changes to make so that your students will learn what they need to learn and enjoy the process of learning!
Do Your Research
Read up on the changes that you want to make. Become an expert! Take a training or webinar. There are so many wonderful teachers on social media and Pinterest with so many great ideas. Follow them and try those little and BIG things that are working for them.
Plan Ahead
Planning is key! Figure out how these changes will work best in the space and students that you have. Gather what you need, how it will work, what the students will need to do to be successful, and plan to be excited about it!
Choose an Accountability Partner
Tell somebody about the changes that you plan to make both BIG and little. If you are anything like me, you will need somebody to bounce ideas off of, somebody to help you troubleshoot, and of course somebody to celebrate when your new moves work!
I’d love to hear what changes you are making that will BE THEIR DIFFERENCE in your classroom this year! Message me and share what little and/or BIG moves you are making!
ENJOY BEING THEIR DIFFERENCE!
