A Day in the Life...

I'm a little late to this party, I know, but I ran across this linky from Amelia at Where the Wild Things Learn over the weekend, and just had to join in. I know I am ALWAYS looking for a way to maximize the time I have with my students, especially this year. This year, I have fewer instructional minutes than ever. On the plus side, I have loads of planning time. Of course, the flip side of that is that I don't feel like there are ever enough teaching hours in the day.

So without further ado, here's a peek at what my day looks like:

Morning Work - Right now, I am having half of my students work on math facts using MobyMax.com (If you haven't tried it, you should!) and the other half doing Read to Self.

Math - We are using the Flipped Classroom model for math this year, so the kids have watched a video for homework. We begin class with a Math Meeting, when I check that they took video notes, quickly review the concept, and answer their questions. Then we split into groups depending on where everyone falls that day. (My students are SO good about telling me honestly if they totally get the concept, need a little help, or are totally lost!) Some work on IXL.com practicing the skill we are learning, some work independently or with a partner on practice or  math games, and the rest work in small groups either with me or with the SPED aide (who is awesome by the way!). I teach the inclusion math class, so the aide is really there for those 5 students, but she often works with others as well.

PE/Guidance - We are on a yes-yes-no PE schedule this year, which was hard to get used to at first, but I've grown accustomed to it. Twice a month, on one of our "no" days, we have guidance. That usually leaves me with about 4 days a month that I actually have my students during this time. We usually spend that time working on MobyMax or doing some of the ever-present testing that is needed.

Writing - Our writing time is only 30 minutes, so I am always rushed! This time is mostly focused on grammar rather than actual writing (I incorporate that into Reading or SS/Science). We do Jivey's Mentor Sentences and I usually do some kind of mini-lesson or interactive notebook activity for the second half of class. 

Lunch/Recess/Enrichment - The way our schedule worked out, I realistically have about 17 minutes between lunch and enrichment (my planning time). Since there's not much that can actually be accomplished that quickly, it's either recess or our Walking Classroom time. (Check out  my previous posts if you aren't familiar with it!)

Snack/Reading Olympians - Since we eat lunch so early, a lot of my kiddos are hungry before school's out, so I let them bring snack. While they are eating, they work on their Reading Olympians graphic organizers for the week. Reading Olympians is a great teacher-made program for teaching Greek/Latin roots.

Reading/Daily 5 - I actually do a modified Daily 5, where my students do 3 rotations a day on a 6-day cycle instead of a M-F week. This way, I am able to meet with all but my highest (well above grade level) group every day to do small group work on reading comprehension skills.

SS/Science - We do this every day but Tuesdays when we have early dismissal. I try to rotate a week of each, but that doesn't always work out since some units are longer than others. I try to incorporate a good bit of writing since we don't get nearly enough in our schedule. I'm proud to say that this year, my students have not opened their SS or Science textbooks for anything other than using them as reference materials. Thanks to some wonderful TPT teacher-authors, I've been able to teach much more engaging lessons than reading from our extremely dry textbooks. (You know it's bad when they bore ME!)

So, that's what my day looks like. I hope this gives you a little peek at how my day goes, and by all means, if you have an idea for a way to improve, let me have it!