Almost Back

There is a ton that I need to get done before we start up on Wednesday. First and foremost is figuring out what I am teaching. We ended a unit just before break, and now need to move onward. There are some social studies topics coming but I need to lay them out. I've also got to decide what novel study books will come next. I had 9 books going this past round, but still have a few in my library that I haven't used. Additionally we have a book room to access. Question is which books and why.

Just to make things interesting I have some work to score. These are the videos that the kids made. They shouldn't take that long, but it needs to get done. I need to start with a clean plate.

Lots coming, I just need to do it. Here's to getting it done.

Dude, Where's My Planbook?

My first year I taught using the traditional planbook. I'd essentially fill in a basic schedule, and a generic title for what I was teaching (i.e. "Sunken Ship, GLE 3.2" etc). I would do more extensive planning using a form I adapted from student teaching, laying out objectives and student/teacher actions. That process really didn't lend itself to being very reflective, since it was in a book that I really didn't want to flip back through (why flip backwards, when you can fill it going forwards?!).


During that year my district started using OneNote. Essentially: a binder with pages where you can use it as you would Word, but share it on a network with others. Pretty great for work done as a team, since each teammate can add, subtract, edit or view the document (assuming they are on the network). You create a section like you would in a regular binder, then create pages to fit in those sections. You can insert files, add links, pictures, to-do's, questions, notes etc. I really didn't start using it for my own practice until the summer when I thought it would be a great way for me to record my notes about books I was planning to use with kids in guided reading or literature circles. That gave me the brilliant idea of taking notes about on the various pieces of Units of Study for Writing... leading me into using it as my planbook.


I was excited about continuing that usage this year. My hope was to go back through the notes from the start of the year this week (since I actually made notes in the margins, and had to-do's in the plans- something I didn't do as much of with the pencil/paper version). Unfortunately I need to start from scratch this year. Why you ask? Because I had my computer re-imaged since our district is going to Windows 7! I pulled a ton of stuff off the desktop before summer, anticipating the re-imaging. But when I inquired about when laptops would be re-imaged I was told that they weren't planning to do anything with them until the fall. When I went in to do some curriculum work for technology this past week I was able to work my way into getting it updated (teacher desktops were done, but I don't have a desktop... I have a laptop!)... and hence lost the stuff I hadn't put on the network or my flash drive. Bummer.


Next time I'll tread more lightly instead of hastily jumping for joy that they were going to upgrade my laptop!

Changing the Way I Plan

I genuinely enjoy planning. It is a chance to decide how you'll get from A to Z, and what you'll see along the way. For me, planning has been about yellow legal pads where I can just write down whatever comes to my mind. The biggest problem with that is I often don't refer back to it, letting it sit and fade into the page.

Instead I am using OneNote to do my planning. I wasn't completely sold on the program at first, not really seeing how an electronic binder would help my instruction. But after a conversation with a colleague at my writing training last week, I decided to try planning using it. Why? I can refer back to my work (and not worry about which notebook it is in). I can make lists of what needs to be checked off and done, and I can embed my assessments directly into the document. So much easier! Below are two of the screenshots from my work thus far...

Towards the bottom I have the Writing GLE's so that I can open the document without having to search for them. Additionally I have placed images of the Writing Power Standards for our district, making it easier to view as I am planning (what standard does this relate to again?)

Above is an image from one of the units, particularly my launching the writing workshop section. I've taken the information from my Units of Study book and made it my own. Highlighted information is stuff I need to go back and fix as I go forward (what I am going to write about as I demo, etc).

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.

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...