I remember my first year of teaching. I spent weeks planning the first week of school, and the plans I made ended up lasting the first month of school! It's difficult, and perhaps impossible, to plan well for students you don't know well, but after many years of teaching, I know that starting the year with a good plan helps to make the start more positive than not.
Today, I spent some time drafting parts of our TeamFive first week newsletter. We'll send out and post a newsletter for family members and colleagues approximately once a week to keep everyone on the learning team, students, families, colleagues, leaders, and community members, in the loop of grade five activities, plans, and events.
I also reviewed a former post about what it means to teach today. This is a good "umbrella post" from which to work as you plan the year ahead.
Further, I made a small revision to the Day One plans and updated the online home study list for the first week of school, and reviewed the curriculum map for the year--a map that's in draft form now since we're leaving room for meeting the specific needs and interests of the students, upcoming standardized test dates/requirements, field study plans, and new initiatives/standards. Hence, the map will be a work in progress all year.
Finally, I took a look at the 2015-2016 Curriculum Chart and made a few revisions.
There's lots to do when it comes to getting ready for school. Our efforts to prepare take a considerable amount of time during the summer months. Starting the year with some new materials, initiatives, and learning makes it more exciting. I'm really looking forward to embarking on the 2015-2016 learning/teaching journey.
