Commentary on the most recent posts

I feel similar to Michael on focusing on classroom management and community building by using Vern's paper. The first year I probably follow the curriculum closely but slowly branch of from it being more experienced and confident in curriculum planning that meets all the standards. Julia, I really liked the workshop type feel in your future classroom. The different stations for differentiation is fabulous, I need to take some notes. Has anyone (other than Lauren who has observed in this classroom) seen the Daily Five happening in upper grades. In a 5th grade classroom I observed in she had this going on and it was awesome. One part of it is there are Lit groups that present. They have the option of a bunch of presentation styles like: storyboard skit (that is approved from the get go) Late Night with... (interviewing) game show (the kids have been on a trend with this one I guess. The jeopardy board is already made up by the teacher so the group just puts the index card with questions in it) advertisement (I saw I group doing an ad for James and the Giant Peach where the peach was being sold). Seeing this was pretty cool.

after a long hiatus...

Sorry for the delay, friends. It's finally time to get the blog up and running again, with the purpose of having a place to air out our anxieties, challenge our methods and discuss our thoughts. Here's what I've been wondering about as of late:

With all the readings, advice and papers we've been accumulating, I feel many great ideas are getting lost in the shuffle. I'm desperate to get organized! I fear I'll leave all my school work in a pile and won't know what's what as we start our teaching. Plus we'll be given articles, staff readings and policies and all of the new curriculum thrown at us, so I think it would be wiser to organize now and get a game plan. So here's what I could really use: a list of best ideas from each subject that we can add to and edit as continue our studies and look back on previous classes. This would be a team effort and could be done little by little, but I know it would help me to have a go to list of activities and essentials for when we're setting up our classroom and class structure. What do you guys think?

Always, for everything, keep in mind the Big IDEA
Identify what needs to be done
Decide
how it will be done
who will do it
when it needs to be done
Execute your plan
Assess what went well and what didn't go well

BEGINNING OF THE YEAR:

home visits and parent packets (for more information see classroom mgmt text p. 164)

bingo

guess who (p. 133 c. mgmt. book)
multiple intelligences quiz

Overall classroom structure:

• computers
• bean bag chairs
• mailboxes
• word wall
  
• carpet space big enough for two classes
• carpet space for small group to meet
• space for individualized instruction
• don't NEED a teacher desk, could place things around the room
  
• large work table with exploration opportunities (could be a station that changes with the changing units) with topical texts and realia for kids to touch and talk about on their own
• ELMO
• lamps and an overall environment that encourages focus and relaxation which will encourage stamina.
• turn in bin: include "in progress" and "completed"
• bins for parent work, and place designated for completed work
  
• tray marked with "notes for (your name)" for parents, kids with notes, and places for other teachers or admin to put things if you're busy; keep them all together so you don't lose them and sort through them am and pm and prioritize.
• keep things out that you use everyday! make them accessible, it saves time.
• think about how much you want to use desks. it might be easier to use magazine holders for every kid for their materials, and color coded bins that match the subject folder (eg. math journals are yellow, bin is yellow).
  
• put student number on folders, then have captains put their table's in numerical order so you can pick them up in order and pass them out easily next time
  

JOBS:

• if it doesn't require a master's degree, delegate to kids or parents--think montessori.
• KID JOBS make a chart you can use each year with pockets labeled with jobs not kids' names.
• have one job be "substitute" so you have someone to fill in for absentees.
• also, train the students to be responsible for their own space, and have daily inspection (day 1: clean under table for inspection, day 2: under table and on top of table for inspection, by end should have overlapping circles of 3 foot radius) have 5 points/table. if they lose a point, take it from class table so its collaborative, and if they reach a total, can get popcorn on a friday or something.
• PARENT JOBS have a pile ready that can always be worked on without instruction
• Have sign up list where parents who can't commit to a regular time or want to help on field trips/special days can sign up -- get contact info!
• Have calendar with slots for someone to fill in name, #, email (can send instructions before hand)
• To get work done regularly and get parents involved, host a half hour after school party. Just bring cookies and juice, invite siblings and have older kid do read aloud, have task work all laid out and parents can just dive in.
• Have parents make posters of vocab lists etc.
  

Planning and Assessment:

• Lesson plans are mapped out on the following, and visible to the whole class:

-Whole year on one poster month by month with duties, assessments field trips, days off, training, and when certain units should be started. Helps map out timing for field trips that have to be secured in September! View the school year as one whole unit, then break it down to smaller parts.
-Have a smaller replica to carry to meetings/take home and keep them exactly the same.
-Dry erase calendar that students can see which you bump up every few weeks so kids can see ahead.
-Daily schedule with time slots; kids can erase this every day, or you can laminate velcro-able or magnetized strips that are color coded and can be moved around.
-Daily lesson plans (Make sure you have lessons planned out for 2 weeks time!) Have a written schedule with time slots that is replicable and can be easily formatted for subs. Also have several emergency sub lessons. Overall--need 30 weeks of planned lessons, vocab lists and assessments.

• Observational Formative Assessment: Come up with your own observation chart, mark goals and completion. Slash could mean completed, box not yet done, and box with slash means late. Have one on a clipboard for each subject with room for individual student observations, can hang clipboards on wall and fold over names for discretion.
• Homework: Keep it relevant and make sure you differentiate. You should have 5 versions of homework if you can: easy, easy with medium on the back if they're ready, medium, medium with hard on back if they feel ready, hard
  

Data:

• Send home a weekly newsletter detailing what you did in class this week, and upcoming school and class events. Include a section of great questions for the answers to ask their kids such as, "What happened to Wilber when Templton's rotten egg broke?" or "How did you smile on picture day?"
  

Reading:

• 90 minute reading block, with mini lesson to discuss strategies, time to work on strategies in stations, and a block of independent reading time.
  
• stations so that I have a time segment to confer with individuals or groups that need extra support for differentiation. Other station ideas: listening station with books on tape, drawing/painting station to work on mental imagery, computer station with text that's on screen so kids get used to the medium, text scavenger hunt where kids have to look through different mediums (books, articles, newspapers for certain content)
  
• book club
• author study or subject study display
  
• big books/read alouds with multiple copies for students to read independently after class reading
  
• large library organized by genre, not level
• book boxes/bags for "next to read"

Writing:

• notebooks for daily writing and strategy development
• 6o minute writing block
• peer assessment with read alouds
• book publishing project
• I am from poems
  
• writing stations with specific focuses such as:

leads (with example texts that use good leads)
sentence fluency
word choice
conventions (and punctuation)
voice
organization
ideas & content

Possible Projects:
garden
outdoor paint project

Games:

Zap

Two Truths, One Lie

Animal Signs

Arriba, Abajo

Heads Up, Seven Up

Magic Scrap

Community Circle

Machine

Freeze

Rainstorm

Conductor

Symphony

When writing sub plans remember to mention suggestions for approaching specific students. Be sure to include information on routines, game ideas.

END OF THE YEAR:

class photo album

This is a start.