To Do List

It is Memorial Day and I'm working. What is on my to do list? Good question.

• Processing receipts for reimbursement- I have an Excel spreadsheet to track all my school expenditures, but I like to double check.


• Reading 65 current event summaries- We had an in class reading/summary current event on the coming end of NASA's shuttle program. Now I need to read, comment, score, and enter into the online gradebook.


• Find a few more resources for some of the CBA topics- some kiddos are coming up empty on the research front, and not because they aren't trying.


• Re-map out this week- I typically map out my weeks a week or more in advance. In this case I need to re-evaluate where we are in our CBA, and what needs to happen in order to be sure we are successful.


• Re-map out next week- Stuff gets pushed around, so I need to see where some of the assessment work needs to be placed in order to make sure it ends up in the gradebook (and on the report card). Assessments include the district writing prompt for Spring, and our Spring Reading Assessment.


• Make a first pass at report card comments- I've got 16 days until report card comments and grades are due... knowing I have writing and reading assessments to score/comment, and CBAs to read/score/comment, I better get cracking.

Not too much. Just enough to keep me busy, right?

The More You Write, the More It Grows

Over the next few days I have a ton of stuff to do. Essentially I have two weeks of freedom before professional development starts in my building. Having just been in two days of instructional materials (writing) training, I am a bit worn out. That being said, I am also excited about the possibility of further integration of writing into my Social Studies/Literacy block.

Kids do a ton of writing when they come through my room. They write down notes, and responses, to what we are reading in Social Studies. They also write down responses to literature we are reading. We do weekly current events summaries as homework. Our wiki gets used on a regular basis, and is a great chance for kids to communicate their understanding of the concepts we are learning.

All of that being said, my actual writing instruction during this block was far from optimal. Part of this lies in my mental concept of writing instruction: a writing block (writer's workshop) where kids are actively working on pieces of writing that may of may not be related to other curricular areas. I utilized the Units of Study materials, and enjoyed them (as a sidenote, I'm hoping to go to the Teacher's College next summer to do some of their PD). What I need to eliminate are the walls between writing and my social studies block. I plan to use the materials I was just trained to use to improve my kids' writing, seeing the materials as a concrete bridge to improved paragraphs, summaries, sentences, etc. Will I do away with my writer's workshop? No. I see room for both to fit in my instruction.

There is quite a bit to be done.

Where to begin?

I went by my classroom on Wednesday. My parents were in town, so I wanted to bring them by in order to show them what my room looked like, and what the school looked like. It was also a chance for me to grab some of the curriculum materials that I need to get planning. I brought home my whole Houghton Mifflin reading set (unit guides, assessment guide, etc), my Units of Study box (planning guides for each writing unit), and my Social Studies materials. The latter I really don't need since I relied on it throughout the course of my first year. The other two I used, but to a somewhat lesser degree.

Where to start? Well I need to look at the standards again to re-familiarize myself with the grade level expectations. From there I want to look at my reading and social studies units to see what is standards are taught in each, as well as how manageable the material is. Even though it is in the curriculum guide, it doesn't mean your kids will find it engaging. I'll then look at the different assessments to see how they line up, and start to plan out my year (when I hope to teach particular things, how long that will take, potential deviations).

Where I hope to really focus some time (this month if possible) is on assessment. I want to find effective pre-assessments for our reading materials so that I can really see the growth of kids in particular reading skills. While reading is done holistically (difficult to separate out skills), I want to ensure that I am pinpointing skills like inferencing, main ideas, asking questions, etc. I also want to be better prepared to mix in novel study books at appropriate levels. Some of this past year relied on moving kids as they got into books, largely because what I anticipated didn't work out. Some of that goes back to effective pre-assessing of reading skills/levels. Having better pre-assessing will allow me to better target my instruction, and move into effective small groups.

For now the materials will stay boxed in the downstairs bedroom/office.

Example- wcydwt flooding

I would start with the image on the left (courtesy of KWTV in OKC) with no other information. The next task would be to ask the kids:

-What questions do you have about the image?
-Describe what you see in the picture?

There are a few things that the kids will be practicing as they do this. For 1, they will be practicing asking questions which is integral to everything (in particular in reading). For 2, they will be making inferences from what they see. They are saying "water is high, dark skies, then I can reasonably infer that it is raining hard and maybe causing a flood." People are having a difficult time because there are cars that aren't moving, and one has its trunk open, which is not normal.

From there we go to: what questions go together, and how can we make an organized attempt at learning more information. Perhaps even going as far as "what do we hope to know when this is all done?"

I feel like this can be done using everyday images that are both local and international. It intersects well with our current events, which will start far earlier in the year.

Hurry Up and Rest

Last week seems like a distant memory. Waking up at 8 or 9am instead of 6 has been great, and I think the bags under my eyes are starting to dissipate. My wife and I have a long to-do list for this week, and we've made great headway. We've also been able to see friends for dinner and drinks, which we never do (aside from the occasional Friday). This week is for recharging, and next week is for work.

While I was hired in early July, I wasn't placed until late August. I essentially had 10 days to get to know my team, the building, and what I was going to be teaching. Add to that trying to figure out how to integrate reading/writing into social studies, and you have a rather large task. I feel like I've done fairly well. But next week is my chance to get ahead, get prepped, and map out a large portion of the rest of the year. Does that mean I won't be responsive to my kids? No. It means I'll have an idea of the content I want to teach, the EALRs I am going to hit, what sequence I'll teach it, and how I'll teach it. I have a broad plan, as social studies (particularly US History) can be linear. But I need a clearer plan.

That waits until next week...

Curriculum Mapping

Today was my first day with a sub. I ran the gamut of emotions. First I was upset for having to be gone. Then I was content with needing to fulfill my new teacher release day obligations, but unsure of what to get together. After that I was nervous that I hadn't written everything down, followed later by nerves that I had written way too much down. Once we got going today, after 8:30 and my phone hadn't vibrated, I let my nerves evaporate.

The entire experience was interesting, and I'm hopeful the process will feel more relaxed next time (but that is wishful thinking). Why was I gone? Because I was at a new teacher support release day. What did I do? We spent part of the day focused on curriculum mapping, which was greatly helpful. That might seem like a nature thing, but it certainly wasn't at first.

Backing up, I hadn't really done much curriculum mapping before. ie. I hadn't looked at the year, looked at the number of weeks to teach, and then looked at the standards that needed to be taught to see where they would fit. Why? Because I was too consumed with ensuring that the next day's lesson would be as impactful as possible, essentially perpetually living in the moment with my kids. I still do, to some extent, live in the moment. I look at the social studies content, look at where they are (grasping wise), and then adjust instruction to meet their needs. Curriculum mapping doesn't replace that. Instead it provides a big picture map, and gives you an idea of where you are going to go.

How is that important? For example we have been hammering away at main ideas in nonfiction text. It is one of the grade level standards for reading, and is hugely important for reading comprehension. What is the text about? What is the big thing the author wants you to know? Well I need not worry that they don't get it right now. Besides that, they won't all get it the first time. I can look at my map and be sure that I will be teaching to that standard again, and know that my kids will get more practice. Instead of bogging down, work on it then move on. We will consistently be returning to that standard, since it is so essential to nonfiction, and bogging down now takes away instructional time for the many other standards I need to hit.

At least I've got some sort of map... funny since geography is one of the social studies EALRS (essential academic learning req's).