Mrs. Slaviero's Blog

The first video reflections my students and I created this fall were eye-opening. I felt I got to know my students better and their reflections captured maturity and wisdom as they thought about their completed poems. I have now asked students to create a reflection of their work during First Quarter. These are the questions students are asked to think about: I feel my best work in History this quarter was my... (choose an assignment we've completed). It's my best work because... Looking forward, during Second Quarter I hope I become better at... (POSSIBLE ideas: participating in class discussions, planning your National History Day project...). One thing I would like to try in History during Second Quarter is... The first reflections have been submitted and these are, so far, just as good (if not better) than their first ones. Continually looking back and planning ahead is a great gift one can give to themselves. I am seeing just how powerful a learning opportu...

I value the use of checklists. They help me to organize and prioritize my life roles and there's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment when I check off my tasks as completed! I have created checklists for students dozens of times in my career--they help to make big projects more manageable and make expectations clear. I had an epiphany yesterday, though, as I was planning my Genius Hour/National History Day activities for students: I need to have students create their own checklists . If my one of my goals for National History Day projects is to give students the opportunity to create a project of their own choosing why am I deciding how they organize and plan their workdays? It was well-intended but I realized when  they prioritize their tasks they will truly be in charge of their learning experience. I gave each student a process checklist, emphasized looking at the contest rules, and then each student received a blank checklist to turn in a the end of the h...