Preventing the Summer Slide

Last summer I  attempted to use my classroom blog to continue our learning community digitally over the summer break.  It was quite a bit of work and I think most of my students and their families forgot about our blog as the freedom of summer took hold (It was a bit difficult for me to remember at times too!).  As I sat down to outline what our student led conferences would look like this year it occurred to me I could create a mentormob playlist with several of the websites we have used this year and have students share this with their parents at the end of their conference.  At the moment my plan is to embed the playlist for families on our last classroom blog post of the school year so it will be easy for them (and their children) to find.  The first four steps on the playlist are paid subscriptions and require a username and password.  I have included 8 other websites on the playlist that I think will be fun and engaging for second graders.

Create your own Playlist on MentorMob!

How do you plan to help your students keep from slipping over the summer?

Summer Learning Opportunities

This summer I am posting to my classroom website on Tuesdays and Thursdays in an effort to keep those sweet second graders I had last year connected to learning over the summer. Before the last day of school I modeled and taught them how to comment on our classroom blog.  We talked about social media etiquette and what a great blog comment would look like.

Is what I am going to write true?

Is what I am going to write helpful?

Is what I am going to write interesting?

Is what I am going to write necessary?

Is what I am going to write kind?

If you click here you will see the first post of the summer and can follow the rest from there.  Last week was the first week we were out of school and I haven't had any students make a comment on any of the posts yet.  Hopefully that will change soon!  I am also recording the posts using Soundcloud for those little ones who might have a little trouble reading the entire post independently.

Graphics by DJ Inkers