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Writer's pictureBenjamin Tinsley

To New Beginnings!

Hey yall,


I’m hoping everyone’s years are off to a great start. As some may know, I have started at a new school this year, after 5 years at my last one. While I’m only 2 weeks in, I can say with no doubt that this is a better fit for me. Being in a department where curiosity and professional growth are central to the philosophy has been nothing short of a breath of fresh air.


I will say, being new at this stage of my career has been more emotionally taxing than I’d anticipated. My students have been incredible…AND…I’d forgotten how much labor went into establishing my norms and routines and expectations and reputation among students in my previous space. That said, though, I also feel like it has given me a renewed perspective on the impact of certain routines and practices within my classroom that lend to a really cool learning environment.


A few biggies that I’ve been leaning into are Gratitude, the Blob Tree Check-in, and the 2 minute drill (all of which have videos on my instagram, @AfroFranco2).


Starting the period with the Blob Tree, just to see where kids are emotionally, has really done wonders to establish connections. Wherever they say they are, I never ask them to explain. I just say in the target language, “yeah I can understand that. Well I’m really happy to see you today. Thanks for being here with us.”


Also, starting class by having students complete the sentence “today I am grateful for ______” has done wonders for learning about each other, and setting a tone of positivity. I usually have them write for a minute or two about their expression of gratitude, then I have them talk in groups of 2 or 3 to “ask questions and follow up questions” about what they wrote. Then, that leads to the 2 Minute Drill, where I use ClassDojo to randomly choose a student, and then for 2 minutes, the rest of the class asks them questions and follow up questions about their gratitude, while I keep track of who speaks and if they use single words/sentences/series of sentences/etc.

Basically the first 10-15 minutes of class is almost entirely student-driven, and it’s real communication about “familiar topics,” and everybody loves it.


So, I’m pretty happy. It’s not without its hiccups, but nothing feels insurmountable. AND!!! Part of my committment to myself is that I will give myself grace this year, and trust that whatever I have to give, on any given day, is going to be enough.


So happy Friday, y’all. I’ll keep you posted.


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Awesome post and so timely, I’m in the same boat as you and can definitely relate! And love the activity ideas, will definitely keep these in mind as I establish new routines, too. Cheers to new beginnings, and congrats on the new position!

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After using emotion labels and emojis for the past week or so, I used the Blob Tree for the first time today and it went really well. I'm planning on adding the thankfulness piece and the Q&A over the next few weeks. Quick story, though: One kid, annoyed at their friend who is also in my class, said they were the figure on their belly on the tree branch...and their friend was the figure, mid-fall, whom they had just pushed OFF the tree branch. :)

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