Happy first day of classes!

It may not be Friday, but I thought you might like a few nuggets to get your year started. For those of you who are new to this blog, let me explain what “The Friday 4” is. On most Fridays (or sometimes on Saturday or Sunday!), I post interesting or thought-provoking articles that I have come across during the week in an effort to stimulate thought and conversation about the work we do with our students. Most of the articles come from my Twitter stream, but some are ones that fellow colleagues have sent my way. So, if you run across something that you think I or others might find interesting, send it along! 

Here are a few pieces that I curated over the summer that are relevant to the start of a new school year that I hope you will find intriguing.

• 4 Resolutions for the New Semester comes via @SCulbertLC and includes four simple mantras that we can all employ on day 1.
• A Practical Approach for Increasing Students’ In-Class Questions comes from one of my favorite sites, Faculty Focus. The article includes a downloadable document with models for students to use as they formulate questions.
• Another piece from the Faculty Focus website this summer: Classroom Spaces Where Great and Magical Things Can Happen is a gentle reminder about the power of the classroom to change lives.
• The final piece is blog post from Grant Lichtman that I ran across this August that reminded me of the power of a great teacher. Reunion With a Teacher-Hero Who Taught Us to Learn.

Have a wonderful first few days of class