Me by the Numbers, A First Day Ice Breaker

Back to school, back to school, we are going back to school!

I am so excited for the first day of the school year.  I can say that knowing I've already been through 2 weeks of Instructional Coach Bootcamp!  Woohoo!  This year, I am coaching in a different building!  I am looking forward to working with the teachers and my new principal.  Over the summer I was perusing Pinterest and saw a great pin for an ice breaker activity called, "Me by the Numbers".  You can check out that pin here along with the orignal post at the Math Coach's Corner here.

I decided to take it one step further and go digital with my copy and share with my staff when we do our ice breaker.  Here is my google slides presentation.  Here is what the screenshot will look like:

I used Google Drawing to create the shapes for the background.  I then added textboxes, pictures and clipart to add the finishing touches.  I enjoyed creating this digitally even though I was hedging on whether or not to use the brand-new batch of "Mr. Sketch" smelly markers.  Love these but went digital.

I think people will enjoy learning and getting to know each other through this fun sharing activity.  I also think teachers could use it with their students as well.  Hello Chromebooks!  Since we are a Google Apps district, the kids all have access to Google Drawing and the teacher could share the template with the students and have them create their own too.  Yay for digital!

I am looking forward to having a fun time with this ice breaker.  Cheers to a wonderful start of the school year for you if you're just beginning or even if you've already started!

If you decide to use this with teachers or students, please comment below and tell us how it went!

Let's cruise!

Tuesday's Slice of Life...@ Two Writing Teachers...

Who doesn't want to drive?
 

As we move into our fourth week of school now, I see and feel the pressure to put the keys in the ignition and get on the highway to learning!  Yet, all drivers know that going from 0-65 and hitting cruise control without doing some preliminary practice is extremely dangerous!  

  

And so it is with our kiddos and their learning...we must remember preliminary practice takes time...follow the prelims now to create safe and thoughtful drivers in the weeks ahead...

Some probably haven't even found a pair of keys to fit the ignition yet!  Help them find these keys so they can get started!

Some probably don't know the step-by-step way to prepare to drive-slow and steady wins the race-teaching sequential procedures now will pay off in the end.

Some probably aren't sure when to gas and when to break-teach them the difference now so this becomes automatic.

Some probably aren't sure of how to look in the rear view mirror-show them how to reflect!  Knowing what's behind us helps improve future learning...

Some don't know about the hazard lights-turn them on to signals that alert others help is needed!

Some aren't sure about putting it in gear-stepping on the break and shifting at the same time...doing both keeps our transmission from dropping-preventing poor engine performance.

Some need maps before they head out to drive-give them a map so they know where they are going-clear directions help us get there...

Some have it all going on-they are ready and just need the practice of the drive-try not to make them wait for ones who aren't...differentiate!

And finally, most drivers don't just get in their cars and take off, they have a reason to be behind the wheel-give a sense of purpose.

This is just me...self-reflecting on what my little drivers might need in the weeks ahead-maybe you've thought of some drive prep tips too...please share if you do!

Hopefully cruising on a highway near you soon!  It won't be easy, but we'll get there!