As I sit here in Texas taking care of business, I am increasingly anxious about the beginning of a new school year. As a teacher I am amazingly anal about some things. I have my class lists done and the first week lesson plans have been roughly drafted. I have my bulletin boards covered thanks to my family for climbing on the ladder and helping make decorating decisions. Desks are arranged, chairs are in place. The custodial staff has done a great job moving my "stuff" from my old room to my new room.
However, I have a new teaching assignment and a lot to learn in just a few more days. I have taught middle school science for the last couple of years. This year I will be back in a 4th grade classroom, team teaching with a great teacher who is also moving down from the middle school. We have split the curriculum: I'll teach ELA and science; She'll teach math and social studies.
I've read through the GLCEs (Grade Level Content Expectations) which are the state curriculum expectations. This is an example: "acquire and apply strategies to identify unknown words or word parts; self-monitor, and construct meaning by engaging actively in reading a variety of genre, self-correcting, and using a thesaurus." I've looked at the CCSS (Common Core State Standards) which is a more national curriculum that we are/will begin implementing as we as a nation move toward a more "common" curriculum. There are 57 specific topics that need to be addressed per the GLCEs. The CCSS is a more broad document with a not insignificant number of objectives such as: "Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text."
How will I teach these objectives: Will I teach to the whole class or in small groups? How can I schedule my time so I will be able to spend as much time as possible in one-to-one instruction? How will a workshop-style program work for me and my students? How much time will I devote to vocabulary? Reading? Spelling? What behavioral issues will walk in the door and what will I do to make sure that even if a student is having a bad day they will feel supported enough to learn through the bad feelings?
In order to teach these objectives I need to have a pretty clear understanding of each student, their abilities, difficulties, needs, situation. I have looked at a couple of years of test data for the incoming 4th grade students. I've talked with previous teachers, paraprofessionals, lunch aides, and anyone else who might have had contact with a child and have information to give me. I've reviewed special education needs both through the files and the special education teacher. I've checked to see if there are siblings in our school, if there have been multiple moves, which parent(s) the student lives with, if they are living in their own home or with grandparents or others. I've tried to determine if both parents are working, one parent working, no parents working.
All of those factors give me a better understanding of my students, but it won't be until that first day as they are coming in the door that I'll be able to see in their eyes whether they are excited about coming to school or anxious about the coming school year. I'll find out who has new clothes and pencils. I'll find out who had breakfast and who had a fight before getting to school. I'll find out who had the opportunity to read a book and who feels that reading a book would absolutely wreck summer vacation.
At that time I will begin to devise my specific strategies. When I see someone who's eyes light up when I read a book, well, I'll give them lots of books to read. If someone else avoids looking at me or puts his head down while I'm reading, I'll find time to sit down with that child and ask gentle questions to find out what's gong on and whether they have a hearing problem, or a listening problem, or a specific reading problem. I'll give a metaphorical kick in the rear to someone who needs it as well as a loving squeeze to someone else.
And at the end of the first day of school I will be exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally and spritually. I will need to take time to replenish my internal resources before I begin to analyze the information I've acquired during our first day activities. I'll look at papers, seating arrangements, classroom set-up to determine if I've made good choices or if I need to make changes. And then, finally, at the end of the day I'll sit down in my easy chair and put my feet up and I'll remember how very, very fortunate I am to be a teacher.
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