Well it is finished! The first week of school that is. As I reflect on this past week and compare it to last year I believe it has been calmer. It most likely has something to do with having some type of expectation of what would happen since I am not only in my 18th year of teaching, but I had several of the students who are on my rosters now 2 years ago.
The first 2 days I thoroughly went over policies and procedures. Since I am teaching 5th grade again and many of my students have been attending our school for multiple years, it was like riding a bicycle for them. Most students knew what I expected when it came to lining up, staying in line order, cafeteria procedures... I was really surprised during transitions too. They weren't crazy and loud, but instead seemed ready and willing to get the year started. I believe this has to do with the way administration did the schedule planning.
This year I am departmentalized... this means that I teach 2 subjects- Math and Science, and I am partnered with another teacher who teaches English Language Arts and Social Studies. (We both integrate writing instruction into our lessons.) The students are with us for an equal amount of time during the school day. I take my first group to special class (Music, Science, PE, Spanish) first thing in the morning (Their special time is my planning period.) and recess around 9:30. I take my second group to lunch.
For a better idea, this is my schedule with my students:
7:30 If students arrive early, and wish to come in they may. As long as they behaved the day before, have eaten breakfast, and allow me quiet to do my work. Of course, if I have a conference during that time they aren't allowed in the room.
7:50 Bell rings and students enter room.
8:10 Students are in Special class.
8:45-9:30 Math
9:35-9:55 Snack & Recess
10-10:15 Finish math
10:15-11:05 Science
11:05 Pack
11:10 Switch Groups
11:10-11:20 Next group has this time to unpack, copy their homework, and begin working on the number of the day (math activity I created).
11:20-12:20 2nd math block
12:25 Walk to Lunch
12:30-1 Lunch
1-1:50 Science
It's doable and it's amazing! And I think I am going to really enjoy teaching like this. I can become an expert in math & science ... and really give my all to my students.
One new teaching/ learning strategy that I learned about last year was a new and improved version of the KWL chart... the R.A.N. chart. I wanted to use it last year, but I just wasn't able to use it with my students. I had plenty of wall space, but I never had the time to implement it. This year I do.
Since I am only teaching the 2 subjects, I feel that I have a better handle on delving into teaching this new strategy. (If I go back to being self-contained next year, I will still be able to use this strategy. I will just work out all the "kinks" this year.)
I realize that most of my readers don't know what a R.A.N. chart is or does. For those of you who do, please bear with me... Students begin by brainstorming what they think they know on a topic. These ideas are written on individual post-it notes and placed in the first column of the table. Students then read a text, or watch a video, or research the topic, etc. When they find out if their original though was correct or wrong, they move their post-it note to either the confirmation or the misconception column of the table. During the course of the week or longer if it is a unit, students add to the column "New Learning" as they learn new information. They also have a column to add what they are still wondering about- what they still want to learn.
For the first week of school, in between the teaching of the rules and procedures, and all the pre-assessments my students had a GREAT time interacting with the R.A.N. Chart. The topic? Me!
Monday each child had an opportunity to write down anything they thought they knew ... It was great! Students were writing things like: my age is either 37 or 97, my favorite color is orange, my favorite animal is a dolphin, that I love teaching math, that I love teaching, that I am respectful, that my pet peeve is when backpacks fall off their chairs... They were really paying attention!
Tuesday I went through each post-it note with them. I placed each post-it in either the confirmation or misconception column for them, and explained why they were correct or wrong. They really loved it! There was a lot of laughter when they found out my favorite animal is a cow, and my first word as a baby was "moo." (I grew up across the street from a farm.) Thursday students once again had the opportunity to enter information onto the chart. They wrote on Post-it notes what they learned about me during the week. Friday they wrote down anything they are still wondering about me...
One student commented that when I answer the wonderings it would be a Q&A! I explained that I would answer the questions, but I have the right to not answer a question. Next week I will make sure to take a few minutes at the end of each period to answer one or two questions.
The most important thing is that they enjoyed going up and putting their thoughts onto the RAN chart/ bulletin board. Without student buy in, it would be challenging to make this strategy work. I plan on using it when I introduce many math and science lessons.
I will keep you posted as I use this wonderful new teaching tool. I am sure that this year will be filled with wonderful memories and opportunities for digging deep into learning.
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| This is my RAN Chart. The top half is for my morning class, and the bottom half is for my afternoon class. |
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I put their post-it notes on the pink line separating
Confirmations and Misconceptions if students wrote
more than one "thing they thought they knew." I
did this because one thing was true and another was false.
This is what I mean by "working out the kinks" this year.
Next year I know to stress that they can only put one
thing they think they know about a topic. If they think
they know more, they need more than one post-it.
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| Up close picture. |
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| Another up close shot. |
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| This is my best friend's/ next door teacher/ most creative teacher I know... This is her R.A.N. chart! |
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| The cuteness is killing me! |
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| I love the clip art and the captions! |
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| I don't think it can get much cuter! |
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| I was wrong! So cute! |
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| Students are so lucky to be in her class. Miss D is super creative and someone I admire. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed it! The best is yet to come... Happy Learning! Happy Teaching! |
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