Here goes my first somewhat valuable teacher post. One of my very favorite blogs to follow is What the Teacher Wants. I just love what Rachelle and Natalie share and they are probably my biggest blogging inspiration. Back in May, they shared their Daily Planner sheet that they use in the classroom. Of course, I printed it (I use almost EVERYTHING they share). Some of my colleagues and I started talking about how to modify it and make it work into our SMART homework. Our school follows HET (Highly Effective Teaching) which really emphasizes the different ways to be smart (a.k.a. multiple intelligences). After several weeks talking about the different ways to be smart and which one we feel best fits us, we start SMART homework. Last year, was my first time using SMART homework and I received a lot of great feedback from my parents. One of the reasons parents loved it was it encouraged "the well rounded student." As you will see, sometimes, I preprogram the grid with activities that fit what we are doing, other times, it is up to the students to find something for each SMART. I also encourage parents/students to "double-dip." If you are helping make dinner with your parents (people smart) and also using measuring cups (logic smart)-write it down twice. To spring board some ideas, I send home a document with suggested activities for each SMART. Unfortunately, it is saved on my school computer. Remind me and I will upload it soon. The graphics on the SMART page of the daily planner are graphics that match the posters our early elementary uses when teaching the ways to be smart. I hope you can use or modify what I have done! All the credit for this idea goes to Rachelle and Natalie from What the Teacher Wants! Thanks for all that you both share!
I will print these as a two-sided document. You can access them on Google docs by clicking here. (I'm hoping the images also link to Google docs but I'm still new to this.)
