Term One ... where did the time go?

WOW - my first term as a teacher and its over!  Despite the exhaustion it was bittersweet to wake up this morning and realise it was time for a break!  And a review!  Time to look back on my own personal goals for the term and think about the great learning strides that the students in Class 20 have made and celebrate how far we've come .... but the journey is only one quarter done for the year and already Michelle and I are thinking of new ways to extend the learning next term!

I'm amazed at the progress some of the students have made and I can't help but compare some of the oral language gains that we've achieved and celebrate these.  Compare these two clips, the first a scaffolded class sentence which students were extremely reluctant to repeat, let alone record, followed by a narrated presentation by the same student with no teacher input.

Nature 7 Feb from Team 1 PES on Vimeo.


nature fia fia from Team 1 PES on Vimeo.

We've sung, danced and explored our way through the first term.  The students have been SO engaged, which is constantly commented on by visitors to our room and the iPads are just a natural part of our teaching.  Michelle and I continue to discuss and think of ways that we can use them innovatively and this will only continue next term.  We've already thought of new things to explore with Explain Everything!  I'm ready for a holiday, but at the same time, I'm SO excited to continue this journey.