Do you have any suggestions for managing time? We are teaching Making Meaning, Being a Writer, Guided Reading, and Word Study. We have 2 hours for language arts.
I work in a few schools implementing Making Meaning, Being a Writer, Guided Reading and some form of word study. Typically their schedules are organized to accommodate for the time requirements needed for different grade levels. So in K-2 the block might be organized so that:
Making Meaning takes 20 minutes
Guided Reading and IDR takes 45 minutes
Being a Writer takes 35 - 40 minutes
Word Study is 15 minutes
The 3-5 block follows:
Making Meaning 30 - 40 minutes
IDR takes 30 minutes and small groups are scheduled as needed during this time
Being a Writer takes 40 - 50 minutes
Word Study takes 10-15 minutes
I know that time is often our greatest challenge in developing instructional routines that meet the needs of all our students. And that time has to be somewhat flexible since students need more time for some tasks than others. I'd love to hear from other teachers to learn how they are able to structure their day so that students have the time needed to read, write, talk, think, share and learn.
Sue Wilder
321.303.9705
Sue_Wilder@devstu.org
National Education Consultant
It is my understanding that the teacher's manual comes with daily lessons and objectives along with activities all pre planned. I am assuming that this type of manual comes with this program to allow for teachers to be freed up from preparing formal plans and spend more time on becoming familiar with the materials and activities and preparing them to use when teaching class. Is this a fair assumption to make?
The teacher’s manuals for all of our in-school programs do consist of detailed daily lessons that target specific content objectives. If a teacher intends to use our programs as written, there is no need to write out another lesson plan. However, it is necessary for teachers to spend time reviewing each of the lessons prior to teaching them so that they can make instructional decisions that are appropriate for their classes and so that they can do any preparation needed for the lesson (for example, reviewing Suggested Vocabulary lists, creating a piece of model writing, or marking stops in read aloud texts).
I agree with Sue--one of the biggest challenges we face in classrooms today is time. We never seem to have enough of it! I would also love to hear any strategies for overcoming this obstacle--One thought I had after reading the question and Sue's response was to really be thoughtful about mapping out your schedule at the beginning of the year.
Yes, on the days you are teaching Being a Writer lessons, you will need close to 40 minutes. But, you will not be teaching a Being a Writer lesson every day of the week. In K, there are three lessons per week and at grades one and two, there are four lessons per week. Word Study and Making Meaning lessons will not be taught every day of the week either. So, not only should we attend to the time we need when scheduling but to what we actually need to teach each day. Being thoughtful and intentional with our daily schedules will help with time.
Still not a perfect solution and still a challenge, I know....Any other ideas?