I guess my plans for weekly blog posts flew right out the window! Oooops! Thanksgiving is this week, and I am grateful for a few days to spend with my friends and family... and NOT bringing any work home with me! What a hectic year it has been so far- and we have only been in school 3 months! My new plan is to blog once a month- to recap what we did in the classroom, and if I am able to blog a little more.... bonus!
Writing ELA Plans
Dreadful! I am constantly second guessing myself with is this good enough... will this engage and interest my on-grade-level readers; for my below grade-level readers, I constantly worry if they will find the lessons "baby-ish." Enough is enough is enough! Last week I worked smarter, not harder! A colleague and I sat down after school with our reading manuals, the standards we are focusing on during the months of November and December, and our Teachers Pay Teachers accounts open. We sat together for about 90 minutes, but our reading plans are solid through the second week of December! And I feel confident that it is standards based, targets each level (below and at grade level), and students will enjoy the lessons.... even if they don't enjoy it, I am confident they will be engaged! That's half the battle!!!
I think I discovered part of my problem with writing reading plans this year. (For those of you who don't know, last year I only taught math and science, and the year before that I was in 3rd grade for 100 years....) Anyway, I discovered while we were planning what is my problem with writing reading plans. After all, I don't usually second guess myself when I write math or science plans. It ONLY happens when writing plans for ELA (English Language Arts). I REALLY do not like this reading series. Most of my students are reading 2 or more years below grade level and the curriculum is annoyingly difficult.
(I sense an RTI -response to intervention- blog post starting to be written in the back of my mind...)
Thank goodness I have a wealth of supplemental curriculum that I can use. The fifth grade teachers have been using StoryWorks again this year, which I adore. It's more than current events that you get with Scholastic. It also has Readers Theater plays, poetry, PAIRED TEXTS (hello! It is so hard to find paired texts.), content that students are actually interested in, background videos, audio files of the texts, AND worksheets that go along with each text, AND..... tests..... differentiated tests! OMG! There are always 2 tests to go along with two of the featured articles AND they are differentiated! So there are LL (Low Level) and HL (High Level)... LOVE LOVE LOVE! I have also bought several resources on Teachers Pay Teachers to supplement and fill any gaps.
I hope everyone has a restful and family filled Thanksgiving! Try not to bring any work home with you during this break. Enjoy this time off, refresh yourself, eat turkey, go shopping, SLEEP IN PAST 5am, and go back to school well-rested and ready. Because the winter holidays are right around the corner!
Happy Teaching! Happy Learning!
Love to all,
~Sandy @The Happy Learning Den
It feels so GOOD to be AHEAD of it! Great post! Wendy 1stgradefireworks
ReplyDeleteHi! Thank you for your comment. I love being ahead of the game. I always try to write/ tweak/ revise my plans 2 weeks ahead of time each Thursday afternoon. That way, Friday afternoons are reserved for getting ready for the following week.
DeleteI also taught math for a few years in middle school then was moved to elementary when my school was shut down. I have a hard time with Lang arts plans too. Your ideas will be helpful!
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting, and I am so happy that you find value in my ideas. :) If you teach 5th grade, I highly recommend StoryWorks Magazine. The online support (ie worksheets, tests, background videos) are incredibly helpful. Also, the teacher guides have the standards written in admin friendly codes and teacher friendly terms (LAFS 5 RL1.2 vs Finding the Theme). Have a great school year!
DeleteThanks so much for sharing your ideas.These are great!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! Enjoy and have a great year!
DeleteI love working smarter and getting ahead. I always feel so good when plans come together. Now you can take a deep breath and relax.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting Kimberly. It feels amazing knowing that we are planned half way through December. For once I didn't bring any work home with me over Thanksgiving break and it is an incredible feeling. I can sit back and just relax. :-)
DeleteIt always feels so nice to get ahead! You have some great knowledge that you are sharing here. I look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeletePlanning ahead, I have discovered, helps when an unusual event occurs. Which can happen at any time in schools!
DeleteI always feel like I am playing catch up! Thanks for the ideas and motivation. Looking forward to more great reads from this blog.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! I'm glad you find it helpful.
DeleteGreat post!Thank you for sharing your ideas!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome.
DeleteGreat job getting ahead in your planning! I always strive to have plans done for the next two weeks. Sometimes it happens and other times not so much, but it is always a great feeling to know you can spend your time doing something else!
ReplyDeleteLisa, it's one of the greatest gifts of organization I can give myself. But you're right, sometimes it doesn't happen. I try to go with the flow.
DeleteGreat Post! Happy to have found your blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad too! :-)
DeleteIt's a great feeling, being ahead of the game!
ReplyDeleteYes it is. :)
DeleteGood idea to get ahead - my bug bear is always planning reading.
ReplyDeleteIt's a constant work in progress. :-)
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