It is all for the best, because our pull-out and push-in schedules are going to be better AND it means I'll get someone in my room everyday for an HOUR during reading. Cool right?
So, because of this I have been planning like crazy to make sure that our day runs smoothly and that everyone LOVES our new schedule.
Here is the basic run-down of our day:
8:45-9:05: Morning Stretch
The students will arrive at anytime during this 20 minutes, so I have to be prepared for students who arrive at 8:45 and 9:05. I want everyone to be doing something beneficial the whole time, so this is what I've got.
The students start with a 4-square. They are all review questions and should take the students about 5 minutes to finish. There is a question in each square (based on math/word work skills we are currently learning) that I project on the Smartboard, and students complete in their journal.
When they finish, students look at our Be Proactive board (7 Habits!). Students choose from this board anytime they finish early. If you would like a copy of this, you can get it here!
Book recommendations is something new that we are trying. Most of my kiddos are into chapter books, and I am trying to push the last few in there too!
There are different forms included based on the type of recommendation it is. Maybe they think they'll like the character or lesson taught, or maybe they know someone likes a particular topic like sharks. It is a freebie for you :)
9:05-9:20 Morning Meeting
This is my favorite time of the day! My kiddos share about their weekend, share things they are excited/scared/nervous/happy/mad about. We greet each other and begin with the end in mind (7 Habits!) by going over our schedule for the day. Getting them excited about what we are doing not only keeps me on track with what we are doing, but also helps the organize their day.
9:20-10:50 Reading
Our reading time has now increased from 60 minutes to 90 minutes! Ahh what to do? Luckily, for the next 2 weeks we are working on nonfiction reading clubs.
Our reading clubs are topics of the students' choice that they research with a purpose. For example, if their research is on sharks, their purpose could be Top 5 Most Dangerous Sharks. This way, they have a purpose for their reading and are forced to provide evidence.
They are LOVING this, so we are currently doing this for most of our reading time.
10:50-11:50 Writer's Workshop
I LOVE writing! It's my favorite thing to teach :) I always do a short mini lesson, with modeled writing. Then the students take their writing folders and work on their own ideas.
I call over writing strategy groups throughout writing time to work on handwriting, sentence conventions, story organization, paragraph writing, etc.
11:50-12:20 Lunch
12:20-1:20 Math Workshop
Math is probably my second favorite! We always start with a Problem of the Day. These are short math journal prompts that usually do not have only 1 answer. For example, I might say, how can you make 43 cents? Then, they show me as many ways as they can.
Then, we move right into math stations. There are 4 stations, and the kiddos make it to 3 stations each day, for 15 minutes. The stations are:
- Paper Practice: Anything from our Investigations workbook or any other worksheets to practice important skills.
- Math Tubs: Differentiated tubs (2-3 students share a tub) of skill appropriate games
- Computer: Math computer games
- Work with Teacher
For the last 10 minutes, we do a whole group activity.
1:20-1:40 Recess
1:40-2:25 Academic Lab
This is when most of my pull-outs happen. This is also the time I pull groups that don't fit anywhere else in the day!
2:25-2:50 Science/Social Studies
We alternate science and social studies units. We are currently learning about landmarks!
2:50-3:05 Pack Up/Stack Up
3:05-4:00 Specials
Specials at the end of the day? AHH! I know. Roll with the punches right?
So that's about it. Crazy right? I hope it goes well!
Sarah
2 comments:
How'd it go?
I recently changed a few key pieces of our schedule to better accommodate the pull outs. It can be nerve racking, but definitely worth it!
The Frizz
The Frizz in First Grade
So far so good! I liked how everything went today but we'll see how it goes for the rest of the week :)
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