Let's Start with "Paperless Thursdays"

Here we go with a new school year and a new blog!  I've been racking my brain trying to decide what to post to begin this new journey.  After several minutes (and by minutes I mean days) of brainstorming, I finally decided to jump in as if this blog has always existed.  So join in with me like an old friend, a close colleague, or a newcomer amazed by what you've discovered :), and let's get this party started!

I've always despised the wealth of paper that accumulates in my classroom from week to week.  In my mind, more paper means more "busy work" for students, more things to take home and "grade", more stacks in a lattice formation...  Then I became a parent and my own children, when they began pre-K and elementary school, started bringing home folders full of papers that honestly ended up in "file 13" (I'm sure you can infer).  Now, in the grand scheme of the week, I most likely make fewer copies than an average traditional teacher makes for one day.  But I still find myself believing that we often create a mess of papers that are without purpose and meaning.  As I pondered this one day last semester, I had the sudden urge to research and/or "fix" the problem, like I often do when pondering things.  Thus began the journey to "Paperless Thursdays".

Now, let me start by sharing that we knew we wouldn't be able to go ALL day without using a single scrap of paper.  So, the students decided we would tally the number of times we just HAD to use paper.  Our goal was to have less than 10 tallies for the day.  ​

The first Thursday was the most difficult of all!  It felt almost like jumping into my first year of teaching- 'What if there were technological issues?  Do I have everything I need?  How am I going to get work samples?  Will this be a huge flop?  What will people think of me if this fails???'  But then I remembered that this was only one day out of the week and the research was worth it!  Plus, I had a team of teacher candidates observing and assisting as needed, a technology specialist on speed dial, and a box of chocolates awaiting the day's end.  Nothing could go terribly wrong, and it didn't!  However getting started took a significant amount of planning and preparation.  I decided to continue with lesson plans as usual.  I would build my paperless plan based on what was already on our schedule for the week.  Below is a vague list of the instructional times that usually require paper and the ways we attempted to go paperless:

• Math Workshop:  Our goal for the day was to investigate and solve contextual math problems.  We worked our way around paper by having students complete their work on iPads using an app called NearPod.  The students were able to join a "homework session", solve the problem, and submit it.  Because all work samples are shown as an image on the teacher's session report, I was able to assess students as usual and could print or email to parents if desired.  See the example of a session report below.

A student uses NearPod to show her thinking!

• Reading Workshop:  We often use graphic organizers or reading logs during Reading Workshop.  On this day first day going paperless we knew we would need to be creative in order to peek student interest and engage students.  So, Movenote to the rescue!  We used this app and website for students to record themselves sharing a book review of a book of choice.  They were then able to listen to others' book reviews.  

(If you haven't heard of or used Movenote, you may want to stop reading and go download it NOW!  It is available as an app on several devices and can be accessed online as well.  Teachers can use Movenote in a variety of ways.  I have used this app in my classroom to comment on journal entries or other student work, engage students in discourse about peers' work, present to colleagues or students, and more!  CLICK HERE to see a tutorial video for this fabulous tool!)

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• Writing Workshop:  I suppose this must have been the most difficult, seeing as how this was a first grade class that writes every single day in journals.  We decided that this "Paperless Thursday" would either involve Movenote again, with students reading others' stories and recording comments, or would center around grammar and mechanics.  The verdict was the latter of the two.  We began with a mini-lesson together discussing details and complex sentences complete with adjectives.  Students then met with a partner to turn simple sentences into complex sentences using....  wait for it.....  WHITEBOARDS!  In the midst of all this planning for our "Paperless Thursday", I found myself drowning in the overwhelming possibilities with technology.  I had forgotten the important rule that I believe all teachers should abide by:  Work smarter NOT harder!  It's no secret that whiteboards work wonders for a plethora of activities.  

As I moved on with "Paperless Thursdays", I tried my best to keep in mind the simplicities of things like whiteboards.  The students and I became pros before long and they were continually coming up with new ideas for this endeavor.  As the semester moved on, we fell into a familiar pattern for these paperless days.  This was beneficial but sometimes limited us to our comfort zone of apps and websites.  

We begin "Paperless Thursdays" again this coming Thursday in my classroom!  Join us and share your thoughts, successes, failures, pictures, and ideas on Twitter using #paperlessthursday!