Welcome to 3rd Grade Day 1

At the end of last school year I opted to move from 5th to 3rd grade. I had a myriad of reasons, chief among them teaching all subject areas (instead of just literacy). Plus, I wanted a new challenge. If you're really comfortable I think it might be time to step outside that zone. So that's what I've done.

Day one is in the book. I'm excited about this group of kids. I see lots of potential. The major instructional difference is the pacing. While the first day isn't a huge instructional day, it sets the tone of the rest of the year. You build community, setup routines, and start some baseline assessing. The assessing part happened informally, no reading assessments on day 1! Why?

Pacing! Putting away supplies took about an hour. Working on our introductory letter (Dear Mr. Hanson) took another 45-60 minutes with many not finished. A team challenge activity (Marshmallow Challenge)? Pushed to Wednesday! The pace, particularly at the start of the year, will be a little bit of an adjustment. But so far so good.