Twitter Inspired: Student Choice

#AddictedtoTwitter

Every Sunday evening there is a wonderful group of teachers who "meet" on Twitter and chat about issues pertaining to first grade.  This chat is called #1stchat and is hosted by Leka DeGroot and Valerie Ruckes.  I have learned so much from this fabulous PLN!  Check it out each Sunday at 8PM ET! (Twitter chats can be a bit overwhelming to follow at first.  I recommend using a Twitter dashboard/organizer; I use Tweetdeck on my laptop and just downloaded Plume to try on my Android phone.  I've also heard good things about HooteSuite.)

Last Sunday's chat was about student choice and was guest hosted by Karen Lirenman. (Here's a link to the transcript.)  The timing of this chat was perfect as student choice has been on my mind lately.  A group of teachers at my school are participating in a book study of Alan November's Who Owns the Learning? which has inspired me to provide choice to give my students a sense of ownership and help them learn become more engaged with their learning. I've given my students a menu of activities to choose from this week for our Dr. Seuss unit.  (Read about my plan here). My class is so excited about these activities!  I introduced the menu last week, and we discussed each activity.  They've been bringing in supplies for the creative choices all week and sharing their own Dr. Seuss books for our book basket.  I can't wait to see their projects!