An amazing baseball coach (and "teacher") that my son works with says that winning teams often have a unifying slogan to represent their identity as a team.  They have things they always say to each other to remind them of their common goal.

To that end, our classroom theme is Darcy Detectives.  Last week, I filmed a set of clips to remind us what the Darcy Detectives are all about.  These habits will serve students well as readers and writers.  I can't wait to show them our video!

As I was reflecting on these habits, I realized that I should also be striving to be a detective-- investigating my work and how students respond to instruction.  However, in the bustle of getting through a reading block, that is far easier said than done.  I understand more clearly now why an observer can be better positioned to do detective work than the teacher, who is busy doing the instructional work. It is really challenging to be the "do-er" and the "watcher" at the same time.

Challenge yourself by inviting someone in to be the detective in your classroom.  We are blessed to have administrators and specialists who would jump to help you solve a problem.  These supporters could also arrange opportunities for another teacher to observe in your classroom with a specific goal in mind.

Detectives work together to figure things out!