Hey ya'll! Or "hey everyone!" Not sure why I suddenly felt the urge to talk like I'm from down South. Because I'm not. I'm from the Mid-West. Where we don't say "ya'll." Anyhow, hi! I'm back today to share the afternoon portion of my daily schedule! Our afternoon is short! So this is going to be a short post.
So we get back from recess around 12:25. I am lucky to have a sink and drinking fountain IN MY ROOM {holla!} so the kids take a quick drink and then meet me at the rug for...........JUNIE B. JONES! I am obsessed with Junie B. My cooperating teacher used to read it every day after recess and I've been doing the same for 11 years! I think I mostly have all of the books memorized BUT I still crack up with the kids each time I re-read them! I have multiple copies of all the books. Usually when second quarter hits, I'll draw names when I introduce a new book. The student's names that I pick are the ones who get to "hold" and "follow along" {I use that term loosely} with ME while I am reading aloud. They LOVE this! They feel very important. They also get to hold the books up and show the pictures. So I read 1 chapter a day and we laugh together at Junie B's ridiculousness. We predict what she'll get into in the next chapter, based on it's title. Junie B. is one of my favorite parts of the day! If you've never read/seen the books, you should check them out! *Junie B. doesn't always speak in proper grammatical form, so there are some haters out there. Everything in our life doesn't have to be about Common Core, does it?! Check out all of Junie B.'s books by clicking the pic below!
After Junie B. we move into Math. I start by reviewing an old skill that we learned the days/week prior. Sometimes it's a fun game and sometimes it's just some quick and dirty counting/oral activities. Then I introduce my lesson, do some direct teaching. We practice in our GO MATH journals and finally plan a game to seal what we've just learned. You can check out some addition Math lessons I've done recently by clicking HERE and HERE. I am working on starting Math tubs soon, but we keep getting all kinds of intervention support help, so I am going to have to figure out how to fit them in again this year.
Once Math is over, it's time for silent reading. Each Friday, the kids go "Book Shopping" in the classroom library. They select 4 books from the library that they'd like to have for the week. *To stat the year, I only let them shop from the top shelf of my library. We recently added the middle shelf and in a few weeks, the bottom shelf will be available, as well. I do this so that they learn how to put the books back in the correct spots. I tell them that if the library is not taken care of, I will shut sections of it down. Seems to help keep them responsible and organized! They keep their books in gallon ziplock bags with their names on them. They store the bags in their desks. Every day at 1:20, they take our their books and find a quiet spot to sit and read. They are allowed to read with friends as long as they are: looking at books, reading books, or talking about books. If it gets too loud or they get too silly with their friends, back to the desks they go. Silent reading is a nice way to end the day. The kids are pretty calm and have some freedom. It allows me to run my guided reading groups. Do I meet with every child every day? Heck no! Do the kids meet with someone daily? Yes. It's also our intervention time, so kids are getting pulled for various groups. I typically have no more than 15 kids in my room during this time, so it's ideal for guided reading.
Silent reading lasts for 20-25 minutes. During this time, I pull a guided reading group. I find this is a great time because all of the other students are engaged and quietly reading.
After it's over, we pack up and sit quietly at our desks. I'll usually put on a Scholastic picture book DVD {love these!} for the last 10 minutes of class to keep everyone in their seats and quiet. We have to do bus and car rider duty and I don't like my kids up and all over the room during dismissal. The DVD does the trick! It usually takes us a couple weeks to get through an entire DVD.
So there you have it. Our afternoon in a nutshell! What questions do you have?
xo
Megan
So we get back from recess around 12:25. I am lucky to have a sink and drinking fountain IN MY ROOM {holla!} so the kids take a quick drink and then meet me at the rug for...........JUNIE B. JONES! I am obsessed with Junie B. My cooperating teacher used to read it every day after recess and I've been doing the same for 11 years! I think I mostly have all of the books memorized BUT I still crack up with the kids each time I re-read them! I have multiple copies of all the books. Usually when second quarter hits, I'll draw names when I introduce a new book. The student's names that I pick are the ones who get to "hold" and "follow along" {I use that term loosely} with ME while I am reading aloud. They LOVE this! They feel very important. They also get to hold the books up and show the pictures. So I read 1 chapter a day and we laugh together at Junie B's ridiculousness. We predict what she'll get into in the next chapter, based on it's title. Junie B. is one of my favorite parts of the day! If you've never read/seen the books, you should check them out! *Junie B. doesn't always speak in proper grammatical form, so there are some haters out there. Everything in our life doesn't have to be about Common Core, does it?! Check out all of Junie B.'s books by clicking the pic below!
After Junie B. we move into Math. I start by reviewing an old skill that we learned the days/week prior. Sometimes it's a fun game and sometimes it's just some quick and dirty counting/oral activities. Then I introduce my lesson, do some direct teaching. We practice in our GO MATH journals and finally plan a game to seal what we've just learned. You can check out some addition Math lessons I've done recently by clicking HERE and HERE. I am working on starting Math tubs soon, but we keep getting all kinds of intervention support help, so I am going to have to figure out how to fit them in again this year.
Once Math is over, it's time for silent reading. Each Friday, the kids go "Book Shopping" in the classroom library. They select 4 books from the library that they'd like to have for the week. *To stat the year, I only let them shop from the top shelf of my library. We recently added the middle shelf and in a few weeks, the bottom shelf will be available, as well. I do this so that they learn how to put the books back in the correct spots. I tell them that if the library is not taken care of, I will shut sections of it down. Seems to help keep them responsible and organized! They keep their books in gallon ziplock bags with their names on them. They store the bags in their desks. Every day at 1:20, they take our their books and find a quiet spot to sit and read. They are allowed to read with friends as long as they are: looking at books, reading books, or talking about books. If it gets too loud or they get too silly with their friends, back to the desks they go. Silent reading is a nice way to end the day. The kids are pretty calm and have some freedom. It allows me to run my guided reading groups. Do I meet with every child every day? Heck no! Do the kids meet with someone daily? Yes. It's also our intervention time, so kids are getting pulled for various groups. I typically have no more than 15 kids in my room during this time, so it's ideal for guided reading.
Silent reading lasts for 20-25 minutes. During this time, I pull a guided reading group. I find this is a great time because all of the other students are engaged and quietly reading.
After it's over, we pack up and sit quietly at our desks. I'll usually put on a Scholastic picture book DVD {love these!} for the last 10 minutes of class to keep everyone in their seats and quiet. We have to do bus and car rider duty and I don't like my kids up and all over the room during dismissal. The DVD does the trick! It usually takes us a couple weeks to get through an entire DVD.
So there you have it. Our afternoon in a nutshell! What questions do you have?
 |
| SILENT READING IS 1;20-1:50! WHOOPS!!!! |
xo
Megan
Love it! So the scholastic picture book DVD....where do you get that? Sounds great...my end of the day is pretty hectic as well and I tried to have them do the quiet game on the carpet when they have packed up, but that hasn't worked out so well. :/
ReplyDeleteSarah
teachingiscolorful.blogspot.com
LOVE the idea of ending the day with silent reading! I bet your kids love shopping for books!
ReplyDeleteI love the bags and ending the day with silent reading!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Megan! I was just wondering if you did calendar time anywhere. Also, how many guided reading groups do you try to see each day (and for about how long?)
ReplyDeleteMy school day is basically from 9:20-4:00 because our district builds time in for snow days/hurricane days/etc. We have several extra days "built in" to our schedule in case of emergencies. The only downside is that if we don't end up needing to cancel, we will have put in the extra days' amount of time - but wouldn't get any days off or get out of school earlier.
Thanks for sharing your great ideas!
~Jenna