Sunday, November 3, 2013

A Glance at My Day with 5th Graders

I linked up with TGIF's Blog to join this Linky Party!! 


My schedule changes A LOT. With every new unit (I chose to teach 4 throughout the year), I need to change my schedule just a bit. 

I am so, so lucky to work in a school that asks me: "So what do you think?" I am never TOLD how to do ANYTHING. It is all about collaboration, and creating what I think is best for my class. No state tests, no standards to follow (even though we do naturally), it is all about teaching the content and social skills. It is a dream school, and took me 8 years to get here, but I am here and loving every minute of it. My schedule has to be different on Wednesdays because we don't have Specials that day.

How long is your day? Well, my day with the students is from 7:45 (officially starts at 8) to 2:45. Four days a week, they have Specials and I have planning time from 10:30-12. This is actually not a good thing for me because it shortens my day with them so much! I need more time with them, but I do try to appreciate the planning time while having small anxiety attacks thinking about all the things we need to accomplish together!

How long do you have for each subject? Like I said above, I get to create my own schedule so I get as much time I as I think I need :) With that being said, I would like for Readers and Writers Workshop to be an hour (or close to an hour) each day. I like to have about an hour for Math once a week, 45 minutes four days a week. The way I planned out my units, I am teaching Social Studies within Readers Workshop. I set apart about a half hour for Science. I also value silent reading and read aloud, so I set about a half hour for each of those. I put a 10 minute Personal Journal time where the kids write to me or just a free write entry first thing in the morning. Morning Meeting is part of the Responsive Classroom model our school values. 

Do you get time for planning or PD each week? We have a meeting after school from 3:30-5 every Tuesday. If there are parent conferences or something else "big" going on that week, usually the meeting does not happen to allow for teachers to prepare for the event.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
8-8:10 Personal Journals
8:10-8:20 Morning Meeting
8:20-9:05 Readers’ Wkshp
9:05-9:30 Science
9:30-10:20 Mathematics
10:20-10:30 Snack/Recess
10:30-12 Specials(art, PE, Music, Spanish)
12-12:45 Lunch/Recess
12:45-1:00 Read Aloud
1:00 – 1:30 Silent Reading
1:30-2:25 Writers’ Workshop
2:25-2:35 Pack Up/Dismissal
Wednesday
8-8:10 Personal Journals
8:10-8:20 Morning Meeting
8:20-9:20 Readers’ Wkshp
9:20-9:50 Science
9:50-10:00 Snack/Recess
10:00-11:00 Mathematics
11:00-11:20 Class Meeting
11:20-12:00 Writers’ Workshop
12-12:45 Lunch/Recess
12:45-1:00 Read Aloud
1-1:30 Silent Reading
1:30-1:55 Quakerism in the Classsroom
2-2:30 Meeting for Worship
2:30-2:40 Pack Up/Dismissal
HAPPY TEACHING!


If you want to link up to this party, grab the button here:


6 comments:

  1. Specails for an hour and a half! Wow! I understand though about the good/bad of it though. Thanks for sharing! I LOVE seeing classroom schedules.

    Tina
    Crofts' Classroom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! It can be good when I need time to do "teacher things", but when we are in the middle of something awesome and we have to stop, I freak out a little inside!

      Delete
  2. So happy you are at your dream school! I feel the same way about mine, and am blessed to be able to make my own schedule (for the most part) and do what I feel is best for my students :) I completely understand your anxiety about not having enough time to do everything that you want to do with your students...I think all teachers feel that way at times!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris - we are definitely lucky to have our teacher freedom :)

      Delete
  3. Thank you for linking up! I also have a long block for specials and it is WONDERFUL!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love these Linky parties! I always connect with such great teachers, and learn about so many cool things! Thanks for hosting :)

      Delete

09 10