Raising the "bar" with expectations.

I tried something new this year to see how it worked going of my new knowledge of love and logic. With love and logic you talk about what you will be doing not what you expect the student to be doing. For example, I will accept work that is completed on time. So, I thought I would incorporate this into my writer's workshop. I was a little nervous at first because I want to encourage a love for writing and inventive spelling in first grade, but I also want to be sure to have high enough expectations to ensure students are moving forward in their writing ability. So, starting third quarter I have told them "I only accept your best work. I accept writing that has capitols at the beginning, end marks at the end, spaces and words with vowels." I also told them that "I only accept work that you can read to me and I can read back." It was amazing to see how many of m y "lower" writers stepped up and really put their best work forward. Several of them showed me writing I didn't think they can do. It was a great note to self for next year to expect more out of students earlier in the year. It was so fun to see that when you raise the bar on expectations, students will go out their and reach for it. It was a great lesson for me, especially for me struggling students that when you expect more of them they begin to believe in themselves and build that confidence because you are showing them that you know they can do it. So excited to see how much more they grow as I keep raising the bar.