Communication Board Project Introduction

As mentioned in a previous post, one of my favorite read aloud books is Sharon Draper’s Out of My Mind. The book lends itself to powerful class discussions, and allows students to learn about differences and the importance of acceptance. While reading the book to my class last year I came up with a project idea, to create personal communication boards. Instead of jumping on the idea right away, I decided to discuss it with my class and get their thoughts on it.
 
I wanted students to put themselves in Melody’s shoes and understand what it would be like to live in a word where you couldn’t use your voice to communicate. Students were extremely receptive to the idea, and before I knew it students were working hard on creating beautiful masterpieces. Students thought long and hard about what they wanted to include. They had to decide what was important to them, what words they use the most every day, who they communicate with, whether they wanted more words or pictures, and the decisions went on and on.
 
When the final products arrived in my classroom I was shocked. Each student brought in a truly unique communication board to meet their individual needs. We designated some time one morning to have a “silent classroom” and we only used our communication boards to talk, no voices. It was one of the most powerful times I have had with a group of students.
 
As a class we learned how frustrating it can be not to verbalize your thoughts. We had to come up with ways to create words that were not on our boards. We had to stay patient and focus on each other to truly understand what was trying to be said.

Most importantly, we learned that there are many things we take for granted in our lives that we can’t imagine living without. Students reflected on how thankful they are for being healthy and living the life they do.
 
This Animoto that I created is to use with my new class this year. It will serve as an introduction to the Communication Board Project so they can get a basic understanding of the project and see samples. I can’t wait to see what students create this year!

 

 

 

The Power of Communication

At the beginning of this school year I sat down with one of my colleagues and discussed the first units of studies, daily procedures, and everything there is to know about the school (this is my first year at this school).  As we spent endless hours going over everything, there was one piece of advice that stuck out to me.  She recommended that I start a "5 minute jot" notebook with each of my students.
A "5 minute jot" notebook is basically a communication notebook between each student and the teacher.  Students are given 5 minutes everyday where they can write anything they want, and then the teacher responds back to each student with a comment or something as simple as a smiley face.
At first I was resistant to the idea, thinking that it would be a lot of additional work, but I decided to give it a try. 
After the first day not only was I hooked, but my students were hooked.  Students that I told "do not write" were sharing great memories with me, asking questions, and writing about their friends and families.  The first day after school I sat down and read through all of the notebooks and made sure I wrote a personal response back to each and every student.  
The next morning the students faces were priceless as they opened the notebooks and realized that I really did respond.  Students were eager for their "5 minute jot" time and were disappointed when the time went by so quickly.  Again, I wrote back, students were shocked they got responses, they wrote a new entry, and the process has continued ever since.
I have learned things about my students that I may have never known if I didn't have this simple notebook.  I have connected with students who usually are very quite and shy.  I have watched my "non-writers" fill up half a page of writing in five minutes (I don't think they realize they are really writing).  I have witnessed the power of kind words, as my students run into the room in the morning to open their notebooks and see what is written.
Some people would say I have taken on an extra, unnecessary burden in my daily routine, but I would have to disagree.  The half an hour I take out of my day to read and respond to my students is one of my favorite parts of the day!  Who knew a simple piece of advice would have such a positive effect on my teaching! 

We are Family!

At the beginning of the year I feel that it is imperative to build a strong classroom community and have students learn about each other.  One of my favorite activities is the creation of a class puzzle.  To complete this activity I buy a large piece of poster board and cut it up into however many students there are in my class, and I include a piece for me.  On the first day of school, I give each student a piece of the puzzle.  They are instructed to write their name on it, and then draw or write three things that represent them. 
After each student has spent time decorating their puzzle piece, we sit in a circle and each student shares their puzzle piece with the class.  At the conclusion of the sharing session, I explain that all of the puzzle pieces represent us as individuals; however, throughout this year we are going to grow together as a "family" and that each of us will bring our strengths and talents to the class throughout the year.  We then work together to put all of our pieces together, signifying the start of our strong "family."

Individual Puzzle Pieces

Final Product Representing our Class "Family"