Ms. Copeland Takes 3rd Grade

Happy New (School) Year     

The 2020-2021 school year has officially begun and I am so excited to teach 3rd Grade for the first time since I began my career as an educator 9 years ago. The thought of being able to focus on one homeroom and truly establish a strong classroom community full of love and learning makes my heart smile! I was so excited to start this school year that I...(drum rollllllllllll), FILMED MY FIRST WEEK and started a YouTube channel!

Youtube

In my very first vlog, I start the week getting reacquainted with the staff members of my entire school by discussing some motivational pieces related to education. One article in particular really resonated with me. "A Teacher’s Guide to Thriving Through the School Year" highlighted  five actions that help teachers maximize their impact with kids. If you get a chance to read the article, let me know your thoughts about it below. Which action steps spoke to you (if any)? 

On the second day, I was able to get a great understanding of my expectations for virtual learning by forgoing trainings/webinars for the various online platforms that we will be using. You have no idea how excited I am to have access to Raz Plus (like seriously, I can't believe that I'll actually be able to use the turbo version of Raz Kids without having to beg for someone else's log-in information). My school is really going all out with making sure that we have ample resources to make learning fun for kids, despite the pandemic. Other programs that we will be using include (but are not limited to): GoogleClassroom, Zoom, Amplify Reading, Freckle, and Great Minds Affirm. I feel so grateful to be at a school that invests in these types of resources without us teachers having to "pull teeth."

The work week ends with me going into the school building for the first time since February. Now that I think about it, it's really crazy that I'm a teacher and I haven't been inside of a school building for SIX MONTHS (not that I'm complaining #safetyfirst)! While at school I was able to start to organize my classroom, and to internalize Module 1 of the Eureka Math curriculum (3rd grade). My coach gave me some guiding questions that really helped to focus my mind as I read through the module. Does your school use Eureka for math instruction? If so, how do you like it? If not, which math curriculum do you use and how do you like it? 

ECSTATIC is the best word to describe how I'm feeling at the start of my new journey as a 3rd grade teacher! Did you start your school year yet? What are you most excited about? Drop a comment and don’t forget to like watch my first video and subscribe to my channel. Happy Teaching (on coffee)!