I love this time of the year. Not because it is summer and my days are tad bit more carefree. I love this time of year because it brings about new ideas. It is rejuvenating. It allows me to create, change, and get excited for the upcoming year. In what other profession do you get to start fresh each year? In what other profession do you get to hit the "restart" button and try out some new techniques. I love teaching.
As I was saying, the end of a school year has come for me but I have not been laying at the pool or enjoying a good book....yet. Instead my days have looked like this:
And this:
When it came to our reading curriculum, my team was pretty happy. We have been tweaking our guided reading format to fit our kids' needs each year. My teammate and I added a lot of work around fluency this year through nursery rhymes, fractured nursery rhymes, phrases, and leveled passages. But I did feel like I wanted to start off my year by getting to know my young first graders a little better as readers. Many times I have found that my little 6 year olds will answer "yes" to almost all my interest questions. I wanted an interest survey that forced them to pick between two items. You are welcome to use it! Just click on the picture below.
My summer brings a long to-do list for the upcoming year. It includes books I want to read, activities I want to make, and apps I need to learn to use.
What reflections do you have from your school year? What changes do you want to make? What do you need to work on?
My class make-up is changing next year, and I am going to have a "high ability cluster" of students in my room. I am told this will mean 7-9 students who are "high ability" and have already mastered many kindergarten skills. My goal this summer is to come up with some high interest ways to engage them in the vocabulary that our curriculum mandates (how can they maybe share their knowledge with the class creatively) and some project-based options to extend their thinking. Because they are entering kindergarten, I don't have much background on them other than a Brigance score and preschool transition sheets, many of which say "they are bright". Open to any great ideas :).
ReplyDeleteAmanda
A Very Curious Class
Oh my goodness!! Amanda! That sounds so interesting. I can't wait to hear more about what you figure out. I teach first (but the lower kiddos). So if we can collaborate at all, let me know :) We will have to talk more in July when we finally get to meet :)
DeleteEm
Hey Em -
ReplyDeleteI also love that about teaching - that we get to start fresh every year and hit that reset button. I'm on day 1 of summer vacation and already thinking about some of the professional books I'd like to read (now that I have time!) so I'm right there with you!
Hope you have a fab summer!
Michelle
BigTime Literacy
I am also on Day 1! But right now I am cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. These little children are messy creatures :) I have several professional books I also want to read. I can't wait to learn some new things !
DeleteEm
I am a reading specialist, and I am looking for a book to read this summer on early literacy. Do you have any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteHi Erin!
DeleteI bet there are a lot of suggestions! I am going to be reading "The Fluent Reader" by Tim Rasinski. "Comprehension Connections" is another great one I like to revisit often! I know some bloggers are reading "The Next Step in Guided Reading." I will be interested to see what they think of it. My summer list includes several writing instruction books, if you are interested in those titles, let me know. Under our "topics" page there is a section for professional books. There might be some in there that interest you. :)
Great!! Thank you!! I've read "Comprehension Connections"; I agree that it's a great book. I've also read "Reading Essentials" by Regie Routman, which is another wonderful resource. I haven't read "The Fluent Reader", but have heard positive things about it. I went to one of his workshops, and I learned a lot from him. So, maybe I'll try that one or "The Next Step in Guided Reading". Thanks again!!
DeleteYou all sound so productive. So far the most ambitious thing I have attempted is to rebuild Jabba's Lego palace with my son after it unfortunately had a nasty spill from a table top. Happy summer everyone!
ReplyDeleteCaitlin
TheRoomMom
I don't know...that sounds pretty productive to me! Those Lego sculptures are super tricky and hard! Plus...my week is about to turn into relaxation in about 12 hours :)
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