Oh, yea. I'm just a teacher sitting in her jammies in Virginia Beach. Back to reality. I must admit that I have been way overwhelmed. I am a think-outside-of-the-box kinda girl, so when your assistant principal tells you to throw out the basal (or use it minimally) and spelling can be whatever program I want as we discuss my new position in fourth, that tends to open Pandora's box. Pinterest, TpT, and fabulous blogs only added fuel to my fire. I finally decided to stop collecting ideas and actually get something planning-wise on paper yesterday, and that has made all the difference.
I also finally decided to use Words Their Way for spelling. I had given the inventory to my future students the last week of school. Once I took the 6+ hours to score and collect the data for all 75 kiddos, I realized the vast range of abilities. This will help me differentiate and encourage understanding as opposed to memorization.
Does anyone else get overwhelmed by all the ideas?
Another thing that made me focus in was this great idea from Pinterest that is my Monday Made It.I am also linking up with Optimum Organization. Both linkies have such fabulous ideas!!!
It all started with this pin on Pinterest from That's So Second Grade:(please excuse my horrible pics :)
I wanted to organize my files according to the curriculum. As I teach at a Catholic school, we use our Diocese Consensus Curriculum. I first created these super cute stickers on shipping labels using the template from Avery. Had to add the cute borders...
I took each standard and created a folder for each.
Now when I get a great idea, I can print it off and pop it in the file...all ready to go for printing. It has really helped me reel in the madness and also decide whether I really will use the idea or not.
8 comments:
I was nice to see Murray win, and see his countrymen win too. I was afraid he would lose it in the semis but he got his act together.
I like the idea of creating a folder with each standard. It has to make the whole thing work almost seamlessly.
matt
Digital: Divide & Conquer
Great organizational idea! And how exciting that you get to throw out the basal, although I completely get the overwhelming part. We got the go-ahead to test it out in 4th grade the year I went out for maternity leave in December. It was stressful, but we worked as a grade level and shared lots of resources. We mainly started with book groups, and we ended up giving reading tests from Scholastic to monitor progress and get grades. We also used "Think Tac Toe" boards for students to choose 3 activities to complete on their book each week. Let me know if you'd like any help!
Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late
Too many ideas can be overwhelming! And what is not to love about those two?:)
I am with you completely! I see all these ideas and think to myself there may be other fabulous ideas out there and I have a hard time committing to one thing! Yay for you on not using the basal. We don't use it and I love the freedom that comes with it!
Courtney
Polka Dot Lesson Plans
I often feel like I am spending too much time collecting great ideas and not enough time getting them going!! I have to do like you did and stop finding new ideas and work on the ones I already have. That file folder system is fantastic and will be so helpful throughout the year. I use Words Their Way - well mostly - but need to use more of the resources in the manual. Right now I use the assessment and word lists and a few word sort ideas.
Great way to organize all of the great ideas you find! I love the labels, too. Thanks for linking up with us :)
Elizabeth
Fun in Room 4B
I'm so excited to find another 4th grade teacher! I found you via polka dot lesson plans! Excited to follow you!
My admin also encouraged us to say "bye-bye basal". Since I've never been a basal supporter and have fortunately never been "forced" to use it...I was ecstatic. I'm not sure everyone shared my enthusiasm. It's a security blanket for many.
I too get overwhelmed with ideas, pins, etc. Love the organization box. I need to set up my thumb drive by standard, not just by grade levels.
Alison
Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'
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