I thought that this could definitely work for my classroom. It would keep me accountable for meeting with the students, it would keep them accountable for the work that they needed to complete (and when it was due) and, if our schedule changed, I could just erase the meeting date!
I decided to give it a whirl. I started by grouping my students and challenging them to come up with a group name. Oh my word, you would have thought I gave them a ticket to Disney World. They were so excited! I think this really helped set the stage for the groups and allowed for them to have ownership over it.
I have two reading classes, so each class gets a board (our classes are named after fictional book settings – isn’t that fun??) I use the center board to write on, hang anchor charts and for my projector.
To the far left are the group names, then the day that we are meeting, followed by the chapters they need to read and the assignment that they need to complete.
So far, this is working out really well and has allowed me to be really flexible, while staying accountable. It’s a great large visual for the students right at the front of the room. If students are absent, they can quickly reference the board for what they missed as well.
We just finished up a whole class novel and now each group will be reading a different book. I am hoping that our new system will lend itself to keeping everyone organized!
