Monday 10 July 2017

Monday Motivation: Daily Schedule

Hey friends, I'm back again to link up with Teacher by the Beach's Monday Motivation link up. I missed last weeks about word walls, but I'm back today to talk about daily schedule.


Here's a look at my timetable for next year. We run on a 6-day cycle instead of a day of the week cycle (so we don't miss specials due to Mondays or Fridays off). So the first day of school is Day 1, the next days is Day 2, etc.


I like to always have a visual display of or schedule on the whiteboard. I have magnets on the back of the cards so I can just switch them out daily. Students check this to see what we have going on for the day! You can find my Chalkboard & Brights Editable Schedule Cards {here} or the less ink version {here}.


No matter the day of the cycle, our morning routine remains the same. The bell rings at 8:45am for students to enter. They hang up their jackets and backpacks (last year I had hooks in the hallway; this year I have cubbies in my new room), change into their indoor shoes, some students go to morning reading (students who need extra practice read with an EA), they hand in their agendas, they change their home reading book, they answer the question of the day, and then they choose a STEAM bin and a place to work (last year I had them silent read; next year I am trying out STEAM bins!). You can read more about last year's morning routine {here}.


Here's a look at my odd day schedule:


My students have music class right after O'Canada, so I have a prep first thing. I'm sure this will have it's benefits and drawbacks.

I am currently reading The Morning Meeting Book right now, so I think I will begin my day with morning meeting. On odd days, morning meeting will be right after music class. We will do a greeting, sharing/news, a quick version of calendar, and then an activity (which will focus on character education, health topics, or STEAM activities). I don't plan to do morning message, because I will do some interactive writing later on. 

I'm planning on changing up how I do my ELA block. I'm going to break up my guided reading rounds with mini lessons in between, more like Daily 5 style. Each mini lesson will be about 10-15 minutes and the guided reading round will be about 15-20 minutes long. I will do a reading/author study mini lesson and our first guided reading round. Then I will do a phonics/sight words mini lesson and our second round. Last I will do a writing mini lesson and our third round. I haven't decided if my third round will be a regular round or if it will be a writer's workshop type round. I'm still debating this. 

Guided math will take a similar format. I will start off with a mini lesson. I talked about math stretches before {here} and will use some of the same activities next year. I will use math picture books, patterning activities, graphing activities, Number of the Day, but also want to add in some Number Talks. I bought this awesome pack Talking Numbers from The Brown Bag Teacher that I want to incorporate. After the first mini lesson/activity, we will do a round of guided math. Then we'll clean up and meet together for a problem solving mini lesson. Then go to our second round of guided math. 

For theme next year I am planning on doing a more inquiry-based type of learning. We are going to start the year with a more teacher-led inquiry based on our science unit of "The Characteristics of Objects and Materials" and talk about how things are made and do some making ourselves in our new classroom MakerSpace! We will be doing a lot of exploring, creating, and . My inquiry units will take the shape of Provoke, Explore, Reflect. I created a unit plan for my last Post Bacc course to organize some of my ideas for this inquiry unit. You can read more about it {here} if you wish. 

Some days we might have library or computer class during our theme time. I will try and use them to connect to our inquiry studies as well. 

Then end of the day, we will write in our agenda books any notes or something we did that day. Then we will do classroom clean up. I want my students to feel ownership and responsibility for our classroom, so I want them to help with stacking the chairs, wiping tables, sweeping the floors, etc. Then it's home time! :)


The only difference between odd and even days is that instead of music first thing, we begin our day in the classroom with morning meeting and two rounds of guided reading. After recess, they have gym (and I have a prep) and then we end the morning with a third round of guided reading. The afternoon is exactly the same as even days. Usually on Fridays we will have buddy reading right after lunch instead of our first round of guided math.

That's my schedule in a nutshell! We'll see how it goes next year! ;) Let me know if you have any questions!