Teacher Talk Tuesday, even though it's Wednesday
Actually, it should be Teacher Talk Wednesday... I've lost track of days...
I have some exciting news to share, I put in for a transfer at school to move from 3rd grade to 5th grade, and the transfer is now complete! Switching grades began with the interest of better job security... you see the 3rd grade position was only guaranteed for 1 year meaning I'd most likely be back in "the waiting pool" which, unfortunately, is all too familiar to me. Looking back at the "craziness that was April 2010" in the Pentek household, I wasn't too excited about knowingly having to go through all that again, the 5th grade position became available, and I saw it as an opportunity for a more stable year, if you will.
Anyways, I'm very excited but also totally freaked out. I usually have, and use, the entire summer to slowly but surely get myself used to another school year, even though the past 4 years I have returned to the same grade level...
but this year, I'm switching grade levels...
not only grade levels but moving from lower elementary to upper elementary...
and instead of 50 days (I don't include weekends) to prepare for the familiar...
I have 15...
and I'm freaking out!!!!!!!!!
I have so many ideas for things to incorporate with older kids yet I don't even have a grasp on the content I'll be covering.
I have a stack of books to read about strategies for 5th graders, yet I still have grad. school work to complete through next Friday.
I have a room to set up, yet all my current items are for little people. (I grabbed my teacher stool where I do my modeling/strategy work/think alouds from and realized if I were to keep this as my teaching post, the new eye level viewing area of 5th graders as opposed to 1st graders will most likely result in disciplinary action on my end, yikes!)
*breath*breath*deep breaths*keep calm and carry on, my own words to live by*freaking out is not a strategy on the top 10 ways to be productive*
One thing I know for sure I want to tackle head on, is integrating technology into our classroom in any way possible. If there is one thing I have learned from my graduate classes thus far, its that the definition of literacy is changing rapidly. I'd be doing my students a disservice if I didn't address this growing trend in my classroom. I'm still in the beginning stages, baby steps here people, baby steps, but I have some articles ready to read and a notebook ready for notes. I thought if I documented my intentions here, I'd have something holding me accountable. I'll keep you posted. Until then, please cross your fingers I can slap a classroom together in a mere two weeks. I love my job, I love my job, I love my job!!
I have some exciting news to share, I put in for a transfer at school to move from 3rd grade to 5th grade, and the transfer is now complete! Switching grades began with the interest of better job security... you see the 3rd grade position was only guaranteed for 1 year meaning I'd most likely be back in "the waiting pool" which, unfortunately, is all too familiar to me. Looking back at the "craziness that was April 2010" in the Pentek household, I wasn't too excited about knowingly having to go through all that again, the 5th grade position became available, and I saw it as an opportunity for a more stable year, if you will.
Anyways, I'm very excited but also totally freaked out. I usually have, and use, the entire summer to slowly but surely get myself used to another school year, even though the past 4 years I have returned to the same grade level...
but this year, I'm switching grade levels...
not only grade levels but moving from lower elementary to upper elementary...
and instead of 50 days (I don't include weekends) to prepare for the familiar...
I have 15...
and I'm freaking out!!!!!!!!!
I have so many ideas for things to incorporate with older kids yet I don't even have a grasp on the content I'll be covering.
I have a stack of books to read about strategies for 5th graders, yet I still have grad. school work to complete through next Friday.
I have a room to set up, yet all my current items are for little people. (I grabbed my teacher stool where I do my modeling/strategy work/think alouds from and realized if I were to keep this as my teaching post, the new eye level viewing area of 5th graders as opposed to 1st graders will most likely result in disciplinary action on my end, yikes!)
I have shelves and shelves of beloved books, and the appropriate accompanying expression while reading (I can do one mean read aloud), but I'm thinkin I'll be eaten alive by 5th graders if I even try to read the way I did for 1st graders, and I haven't touched a young adult book since I was a young adult (except for Twilight, I guess).
*breath*breath*deep breaths*keep calm and carry on, my own words to live by*freaking out is not a strategy on the top 10 ways to be productive*
One thing I know for sure I want to tackle head on, is integrating technology into our classroom in any way possible. If there is one thing I have learned from my graduate classes thus far, its that the definition of literacy is changing rapidly. I'd be doing my students a disservice if I didn't address this growing trend in my classroom. I'm still in the beginning stages, baby steps here people, baby steps, but I have some articles ready to read and a notebook ready for notes. I thought if I documented my intentions here, I'd have something holding me accountable. I'll keep you posted. Until then, please cross your fingers I can slap a classroom together in a mere two weeks. I love my job, I love my job, I love my job!!
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