Fall 2004

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Planning for Sanity

by Brenda Boreham

GETTING STARTED
So, it’s the beginning of the school year. You have just been assigned to a new grade, or possibly a split class. You are feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of meeting the needs of so many young learners while trying to fit in all the prescribed learning outcomes. Well, it is realistic to acknowledge that any teaching assignment can be overwhelming if you let it be. The job can expand to fill whatever time you have available. Developing some effective planning strategies and management systems will help you stay sane and live to teach another day!

PLAN COLLABORATIVELY
First, lighten your load—don’t work alone. Whether your planning partner teaches just down the hallway, or across town, finding a teacher to plan with has enormous benefits. For several years, my friend Jane and I taught our themes simultaneously, except that her class followed the sequence one week behind mine. At the end of each week I would hand over the listening centre tapes, books, videos and other supplies for her to use the following week. Sharing materials was not only cost effective but saved us time as well. Besides sharing ideas and resources, planning with a partner can be fun and a great way to maintain motivation.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO TEACH?
Go to the ministry web site and print the pages that list the learning outcomes for each subject at your grade level(s). Spread them out and look for connections across the curriculum. Group the similar learning outcomes together. Use coloured hi-liter pens, cut and sort them, web or whatever method works best for you. I usually start with the learning outcomes for Science and Social Studies. Once the broad themes become apparent, I start to slot in the outcomes from the other subject areas. In B.C., for example, one of the Grade 4 learning outcomes for Life Science is “compare the structures and behaviours of local animals and plants in different habitats.” The Social Studies learning outcomes include “identify and compare physical environments and cultures of various B.C. Aboriginal groups.” These learning outcomes led to the development of theme units that examine various aspects of two distinct British Columbian ecosystems—the Cedar Forest and the Seashore.

HOW WILL YOU TEACH?
With the Learning Outcomes grouped into broad themes, you can plan the sequence of instruction and form an outline for the year. Take the outline to the school calendar and plot out times for the special events such as field trips, guest speakers, assembly performances, holidays, etc. Select your favourite teaching strategies and begin to develop a teaching style that suits the needs of your students and is comfortable for you.

Over the years I have developed a number of literature based themes that include a variety of projects and hands-on activities. A broad topic allows me to include all of the content and skills that I need to teach. To explore a topic in depth engages children’s interest but requires time, so I usually teach in six to eight week blocks (allowing for naturally occurring interruptions such as holidays, etc.) for a total of five themes a year. In the next issue of Canadian Teacher I will describe a model for designing a literature based theme.

SOME START-UP STRATEGIES THAT WORK
PLANNING BOOK

• Make a check list of all of your beginning of the year start-up chores. It will help you get “kick-started” when you come in to the class from the long summer break. Keep it in a binder with your outline for the year, timetable, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

• Colour code the students’ notebooks, duo tangs and folders. You’ll be surprised how much time it saves when collecting, marking and distributing them. Colour coding also makes for less confusion with primary students—they know the spelling folders are blue! Our Primary staff buys the supplies they prefer during the summer months. The parents pay for them in September. Bulk buying often provides us with discounts and makes colour coding easy. If this is not possible at your school you could glue coloured covers to the fronts of the notebooks or code with labels or stickers.
• Store all notebooks and folders on a side shelf or in bins. This keeps them in good condition, gives you easy access to them for marking and makes it easier for young children to keep desks tidy.
• Each morning provide every child with two sharp pencils. A communal container of extra pencils should be located in a convenient spot. Broken or dull pencils can be traded for a sharp one, eliminating the need for pencil sharpening during the day. A monitor can collect and sharpen the class set at the end of the day and redistribute them for the morning.
  
  

MORNING QUESTION

• Make each child in the class a clothes peg with his/her name printed on the front and a magnet glued to the back. The pegs can be stored at the edge of the chalkboard. Every morning, after the coats are hung up and lunches stored in the cubbies, the children go to the board and read the question you have printed for that day. Provide a variety of answers underneath the question. The children place their pegs under the response of their choice. Sometimes my question is a housekeeping item, “Did you return your permission slip?” but more often it has something to do with the theme. The question serves as a smooth transition between home and school. It can also be used for charting attendance. The answers can be tallied and graphed in a variety of ways.

HOME COMMUNICATION AND HOMEWORK
Some form of regular home communication is part of most classroom routines. This system works well for me:

• Send homework folders home on Monday. The folders are vinyl duo tangs with pockets in the front and back. Written work and practise sheets for the week are stapled together and placed in the pockets. Instructions for the daily assignments are typed or printed on a weekly cover sheet that remains in the folder. There is space for the parents to sign and comment at the bottom of this page. The folders go home in a ziplock bag.
• The expectation is that the children will complete the daily assignments inside and return the folders on Friday. Our Parent group pays for the primary homework folders at our school (colour coded by grade). If funding for the folders is not available to you, try stapling the weekly assignment sheet to the worksheets and send them home in a zip-lock bag.
• Save all notices, permission slips, etc. for distribution in the homework folders on Monday. This will increase the chance of the parents finding and responding to them in a timely fashion.

V.I.P.
This is a variation of the “student of the week” strategy. It is a delightful way for the students to get to know each other a little better. It also provides many opportunities for each child to take on classroom responsibilities and to make presentations.

• Draw to determine the weekly V.I.P. The child who is chosen takes care of the calendar and attendance routines, as well as other classroom jobs.
  
• Have the child decorate a small box (shoe boxes work well) in a way that tells the rest of the class something about himself/herself. (Photo collages, cut up magazine pictures, stickers, and drawings are just some of the creative ideas I have seen.) Inside the box the child stores five to seven small treasures from home to share with the class at the end of the week.
• After sharing time, the V.I.P. poses in front of the group for a directed drawing lesson. The class set of “portraits” are then stapled together with a special cover to form a booklet. The booklet and treasure box serve as momentos to be taken home.
• A letter home to the V.I.P.’s parents, in the homework folder, ensures a good response.

Brenda Boreham has been teaching in BC schools for over 25 years. She uses an integrated approach in her classroom and works collaboratively with her colleagues. Brenda has written several teaching resources and presents popular workshops at District Pro D days.