And yet, here we are, in the home stretch of the school year. I am so thankful that we do our standardized testing in the fall, because many of the educators I see out there in the universe are all pressed for time because of test preparations. I’m pressed for time because I want to get my poetry unit and another novel finished before the end of school. I want to get through all the human body systems before the end of the year, and we’ve only done skeletal, muscular, and digestive. I want to actually reach the last section of my 6th grade science book, and have the kids make the e-book guide to space and technology that they’re so excited about. (Look for a longer post about how we went about the process of making our ebook in May or June.)
The K-6 reading teachers are meeting tomorrow morning to decide on a new textbook series that will fit our Reading curriculum. I’m glad for this, because coming into my new grade level this year and discovering that there was no textbook was a challenge. I’ve filled our time with visual literacy with CNN Student News, non-fiction texts through Scholastic Scope Magazine, and then a series of four novels, one per quarter. (Freak the Mighty, Hatchet, The Westing Game, and Bridge to Terabithia) I am fairly sure that I met all the curricular goals that we had outlined in our previous curriculum. Now that it’s revised and more CCSS-based, I’m hoping that whatever textbook series we go with will help me plan a little better. I really think I want to lobby for the digital edition for my classroom, since they will have Chromebooks next year, too. We’ll see what ends up happening.
Whatever happens here or in your neck of the woods, know that you, teacher, have a noble calling. We are preparing kids for the world of tomorrow! Do your best, finish strong, and keep His song in your heart!
I loved the book “The Westing Game” as a kid. Great choice!