Teaching With Intention: Chapter 1

So, this little blog has been neglected!  I have plans for the summer for blogging, and I figure, why not start with the Teaching With Intention by Debbie Miller book study hosted by Mr. Greg at The Kindergarten Smorgasboard.  I'll be linking up with Enchanted Kindergarten for chapter one.  Here goes!

First, I took this video of my classroom at the end of the school year, to post about, before I knew of the book study.  I wanted a kind of before and after.  Because I knew I wasn't happy with my room this year, I kind of let it go to pieces at the end and so I videoed (is that a word!) the down and dirty of it. School is out and I'm in the process of throwing out a TON of stuff.  I've got a new carpet and carpet squares on the way from a Donor's Choose project and a new cork board for the wall for morning message.  I'm definitely getting rid of the 8 foot cubby shelf, too!  I'll be posting another video reveal later in the summer when I'm done.

I had to divide it into 2 parts.

Warm, cheery, and inviting!  

I struggle with this one in my current classroom.  There are a ton of cubby type shelves that are not very useful.  All the shelves and the cubbies that have to stay take up almost all of the wall space.  Any anchor charts we make during the year go away rather quickly because we have no where to hang them where the kids can use them.  I can't paint the walls or hang anything from the ceiling.  I can only cover 20% of the walls.   The room is small!  I will probably have 20 students next year.  Therefore, 20 desks.  I want a book corner, so I'm trying to use the rug I have coming to also arrange the classroom library around.  I want people who walk in to think "Wow, I would love to be in this class!" and I know that is not the case right now.  

My ideal classroom wold be abuzz with chatter about meaningful things that we are learning about.  I often play music in the background and usually the kids love that.  I love a colorful classroom and plan to add splashes of color next school year.  I have a couple of shelves to paint and I'm going to make the cork board pop.

I loved in the book when she states that she didn't even know if the teacher was in the room.  To me, that is amazing.  I can see the classroom full of student learning with the teacher facilitating where needed.  I can see students being in control of their learning and being excited to learn.  I want that!

I want to move to more small group and one on one instruction next year.  Ideally, I think I would be better able to assess students and what they have learned and be able to guide instruction better.  In the past few years our team has moved to more whole group reading instruction and then utilize small groups.  I'm thinking of utilizing mostly small groups next school year and I'm researching what that would look like.  I know my assistant and I would be stationed at either of our kidney shaped tables.  I would often work at the stations with students as well.  Student work would be largely completed at the small groups and stations.  I'm sure some individual work would be completed at their desks as well.  Like I said, I'm researching how I want to accomplish this.

Converting to stations and small groups.  

I've gotten so accustomed to large group instruction with pull out of individuals and small groups when needed that this will be a big transition for me.  I've already started running schedules through my head on how to accomplish this.  

I also need to make sure I'm organized.  I start the year with the best of intentions and with great plans of organization, and then BAM! the year starts!  Once the year starts I do good to make piles out of the way and keep my head above water.  I'm trying to combat that by having a strong year long plan and things already organized to begin with.

Hmmmmmm, based on where I'm trying to go next school year, not much is already in place.  We will see where things go in the next school year, though!

I am so excited about the rest of this book.  Last week during a PD activity we had to create and take a standardized test like our students will have to take next school year.  I created a test based on third grade standards and I had a revelation.  I need to read more adult text.  I really had trouble comparing and contrasting and remember what I read!  OMWord!  Maybe it was just a bad day for me.  Maybe not!  I know though, that this summer will be full of reading not only for PD, but for pleasure!