This week I
had a number of things I had planned to talk about and something else has yet, again, sidetracked me. But sometimes,
you’ve gotta share! Today I was home
with my youngest who wasn’t feeling well.
I tend to overuse Facebook on days like this, and that’s where I saw
this:
I'm working on
Science daily 5. I am asking for input on the rotation. Do you allow each group
in to each station daily? Please help!
That
totally got my interest. I had to find
out more! I had to get my oldest going
and get him to school! That’s a
half-hour away and that means think time-and think I did!
Before I left the house, I was able
to discover what the Science Weekly 5 was.
I went to The Science Penguin and took a quick glance:
From that quick glance, I then found this link to her
freebie that explains more.
And, from there, my brain started ticking away. I know enough about the Daily 5 to be able to
make some serious reading/content area connections. The Daily 5, in case you haven’t heard of it,
is a reading system that allows you to hit all areas of reading work every
day. I have done a modified version in
the past and just haven’t gotten there since I have taught 4th grade. I find that I am really teaching and they are
busy enough with the literature we are doing, that I just can't get to it. It is an awesome program, so if you want to
learn more, I highly suggest getting the book and reading it through.
As I was driving, I began to make
some serious decisions. What did I want
it to look like? Who would be doing
what? What would I be doing? How could I make this content area worthy and
hit everything I need to hit? How will I
know what the kids are doing and cover content?
How would I give a test? And,
then, BAM-just like that-I also realized how this would help when I’d be
working with my RTI groups! Oh, how
great this day is! Success!! Without further ado, here it is.
1. There would be 6 rotations instead of 5. The 6th rotation is the +. It is only for the kids that are not
participating in RTI. They are doing the
extra assignment while I am working with the small group kids. They can work on any of the Weekly 5+ during
this time.
2. The areas would be Social Studies comprehension,
Partner Reading/Listen to Reading Science Text with comprehension, Teacher
Time, Team Work Time (this will be project based), Vocabulary, and + Time.
3. Yes, it covers both areas. Let me restate that -YES! (with a fist pump)
That means I’ll get through more curriculum at a faster paces than I currently
am.
4. YES! (Fist pump) I can still do projects and
experiments because now it will be interwoven with the rest of the items and I
will meet with kids in small groups to help guide their understanding when we
do this!
5. YES!
(Fist pump) I can give tests.
This will be the teacher rotation for the week all on one day! So, technically, they are still working on a
rotation, just all at once. And when
they finish, they are able to go right back to work on one of the things that
they have for the week-steady flow of work!
6. YES!
(Double fist pump) I’m covering READING SKILLS this way!
7. YES!!
(Triple fist pump) I get multiple
grades for each subject, each week now!
Oh, I could just sing at this point!
Hallelujah!
Oh, dear Fourth Grade Friend, you have no idea how you
blessed me today while I drove my child to school. So what did I do when I got home????
I wrote it
up! Here’s a quick peek at what I’ve got
going! This is the poster that I will print out and laminate for my
room. It will be the overall guide for the kids for the week.
These are the plans for week one. That’s right-next week! I'm totally excited! Look at that-Science AND Social Studies! That means grades folks, and you know that’s
what we are always looking for!!!
Each week, I'll just take this off the poster and add the next plan of action! How great is that!
For those of you from Florida, the
reading comprehension is the sheets from Florida Then and Now. I got so excited about this, I charted out
the comprehension for the rest of the year-yes, I did! That’s how you spend a day with a sick kid
who’s watching TV all day! (Oh, I did 2 loads of dishes, graded 4 sets of
papers, did 4 loads of laundry-no folding till after this, and made 2 batches
of Pillsbury biscuits, 2 batches of corn bread, and 1 loaf of beer bread for my
youngest school’s luncheon tomorrow.
Please don’t ask me how-I’m still trying to figure out how I was that
efficient today!)
There are more thoughts that I
have. I know there will be some work
throughs. I haven’t even read through
The Science Penguins suggestions yet. I
know they will help. I’m just, plain,
fist pumping excited about this! I’m
hoping you might like this too! It is a
totally different way to think about the content areas! Thanks again Fourth Grade Friend!!!
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