Ways to Spend Your Time

Spring Break is here. It is half over, but it feels great. How do I fill the time?

• Read kids books. Already done with Moon Over Manifest (2011 Newbery Award Winner), and the Westing Game (also a Newbery Winner). Currently in the midst of Catching Fire (Hunger Games book 2) and purchased Heart of a Samurai, and Mockingjay.


• I run. Lots. Aiming for 90+ miles this week, which is great considering I was sick last week.


• I plan my coming weeks.


• I think big picture about instruction...

Questions I'm working over, but will address in another post...

• In what ways can I mesh the Literary Essays book of the Units of Study for Writing with my current novel study structure? So many good things in there that I do, but in a different way. How can I reinvent what I already do to be more impactful?


• How can I better utilize the end of my day? I'd virtually given up on read aloud because of where it fit. My writing instruction also hasn't been what I had envisioned either. Not coincidentally, both were/are in the last 75 minutes of my day.


• What technology tools can I leverage to do quick checks of reading comprehension? Is it google docs with a quick form? Is it using my district dropbox? I wasn't too thrilled with the latter, but that could have been my setup not the implementation.


• What quick assessments can I use to monitor skills, and better adjust my instruction? This dovetails on yesterday's posts where I want some quicker checks that I can put into a spreadsheet to help track how kids are doing on particular skills in order to ensure timely feedback. I do this... but without the papertrail that I want (or need).

Looking Ahead

The start of the school year is such an odd thing. You start with 3-4 days, you get the long weekend, and then you have another 4 days. By the end of this second week you start to get into a groove, which is good considering you go another 4+ weeks before you get a day off for professional development.

While our 5th grade rotates students through content areas (math, science, social studies/literacy), we won't be starting that quite yet. Instead we'll continue to build community and routine in our homeroom groups. We have some math pre-assessments that need to be completed. We'll also do some reading comprehension through some short passages on maps, with the culmination being a completed map (off a blank world map) including major lines of latitude and longitude, continents, and oceans (I might be missing something as I'm not looking at it). We'll continue reading Rules by Cynthia Lord too. I need to be far better about my read alouds during the year, making a conscious effort to continue pushing through them even when we appear strapped for time. City of Ember will likely be next, as the trio of books in the series are really well written. We're just going to keep pushing.

First Week Reflections

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. I had two professional development days, and got a chance to re-bond with the school staff. I took two flights, one red eye and one at 6:00 AM (ouch is right!). I went to one rehearsal dinner, and one wedding, standing as a groomsman. I lost a temporary crown, and had it replaced (don't ask). Lastly, I finished my first day and first week of school.

The difference between year one and year two of having your own classroom is exponential. My overall comfort is well beyond last year's, which is funny considering how comfortable I felt last year. My nerves were there, as I hope they will be for each and every year until I retire. My planning running up to this school year has also been more efficient as well. While I knew what was coming last year, I always felt a step or two behind where I wanted to be. This year I might be behind where I am scheduled to be, but I am right where I should be (pacing/instruction-wise).

There are some great things coming. We're already reading Rules by Cynthia Lord for our read aloud. I felt like that would be a great way to bring out acceptance of different people (as the book surrounds an autistic boy and one who is mute). I'm also hoping to get the blog rolling this year, a new wrinkle or tool to use in my instruction. I also have some more specific work that the kids are going to be doing with our wiki, as opposed to creating pages to document the topics/subjects we are/were studying.

Good things in the works. Buckle your seat belts!