I know it's summer "vacation" but teachers never stop working or thinking about their classrooms. Every school year is a fresh start and a chance to revamp the way you have done things in the past. I love that I have that opportunity every year. For the past couple years we have used some "Brain Breaks" interactive notebook activities that I had created. They worked really well to help the students review what they were learning in class and I've wanted to expand on that this year. Back in the spring I came across Lee Ferguson and I was inspired by the Interactive notebooks that her AP Bio students create. I highly recommend that at some point this summer you go to her website and check it out. There are some amazing resources and ideas on her site . Lee Ferguson interactive notebooks in AP Bio Before you go to her site, let me show you what I have been doing. I have a belief that as a teacher if I am going to expect my students to do something

This year instead of the typical "rules roundup" I plan to do something a little different on the first day of school.  We will be making some growth mindset posters for our classroom. I often find that my students at some point in the year encounter a setback and have a tough time getting past it. Sooo...this year each class will work together to create a poster for our classroom wall showing a celebrity that has encountered setbacks and through hard work has overcome these obstacles. I created this poster set so that all students in the class receive a part of the poster and have a part in creating the large poster. Poster of Michael Jordan student coloring a page Famous Faces Poster Set Details: • There are 6 different posters and all can be combined into one large poster.  • There are 5 rows and 5 columns for each poster. (some are blank…check the key) • Each poster is approx. 35” x 50” when complete. Combined as one large banner poster it is approximately