#OpenHouse16
"Open House signifies the end of the school year is near. It exudes exhaustion not only for the teacher but for the students as well. Everyone's rushing to "show" their best and yet it is a time to celebrate. Celebrate the accomplishments and progress students have made from Day 1 to Day 161 (we have 20 days left, but who's counting.)What better way to celebrate than to mesmerize parents by engaging them in several of our weekly tasks. Tasks that include reading, writing, analyzing, collaborating, and problem solving.
I've gone from a teacher who covered every blank space on her wall with student work. Our year was laid out for all eyes to view, grouped by themes. Those days are gone and replaced with a new #openhouse, an #openhouse with a techy twist. Instead of walking through our classroom, looking and gawking with "oohs" and "ahhs" at work on the wall, students explain, discuss, guide, and present to their parents who listen, ask questions, read, and tweet their new learning.
The instant parents walk into Room 20, they are greeted by the teacher and handed a pamphlet welcoming them to their Open House Scavenger Hunt. Students guide their parents through the tasks. What better way to practice listening, speaking, writing, and comprehension skills for both parents and students. We call that a WIN-WIN and that's exactly what I witnessed for 2 hours.
I've gone from a teacher who covered every blank space on her wall with student work. Our year was laid out for all eyes to view, grouped by themes. Those days are gone and replaced with a new #openhouse, an #openhouse with a techy twist. Instead of walking through our classroom, looking and gawking with "oohs" and "ahhs" at work on the wall, students explain, discuss, guide, and present to their parents who listen, ask questions, read, and tweet their new learning.
The instant parents walk into Room 20, they are greeted by the teacher and handed a pamphlet welcoming them to their Open House Scavenger Hunt. Students guide their parents through the tasks. What better way to practice listening, speaking, writing, and comprehension skills for both parents and students. We call that a WIN-WIN and that's exactly what I witnessed for 2 hours.
Parents took selfies with their child to complete part of Step 2. Smiles and more smiles.
Step 3: Students shared their poetry books, consisting of 45 poems written throughout the year. Parents used ThingLink to tag their favorite poem written by their child.
Step 4 required students to share their 3-D printed artifacts and explain who the artifact represented. Parents filled out a Google Form about what they learned. Below you can view their responses.
Parent responses
Step 5 required parents to read about our #MysterySkypes with students around the country. They used our Twitter account to share what they learned.
Step 6: Using padlet, write a message about what you learned about your child after scanning their QR Code to read their "I Am" Poem.
Step 7 asked parents to visit wonderopolis.org and read a wonder. After, they added a slide to our GoogleSlides presentation about something new they learned.
The final Step, 8, allowed parents to explore their child's website. They wrote messages on large post-its to their child.