Sweet Summertime...

What is that? It seems like I have been going and going since school let out on June 1st. I wish I could say that I have been doing some much needed relaxing, but that won't happen until I finish with my comprehensive exam for Grad School on June 30th. Luckily, this has been the easiest of the three semesters, but I am so ready for it to be over. Did I mention that I am going to start the principalship semester this fall too? I know that if I do not do it now that I will never do it.

This past week I spent three days on the Riverwalk in San Antonio attending the Texas State CSCOPE Conference. I was asked to go by my principal back in the spring when she was wanting me to teach some math classes. CSCOPE is the curriculum that my district uses for everything except Language Arts. My district has been implementing the curriculum one subject at a time. We started with Science and then added Math this past year. This coming year will be Social Studies and as of now Language Arts will be following in the next school year. I tried to get out of going, but there was not another female to take my place. I ended up going to all Language Arts sessions and was very pleased with some of the ones that I attended. I am actually planning on using the ELA component of CSCOPE this coming school year because we really lack a scope and sequence in ELA on my campus. I figured if I will be expected to use it the next year, why not go ahead and get my feet with it already?

I am also excited to be helping Laure from Will Grade for Coffee celebrate 100 followers! Be sure and go and check out her giveaway! There are some great prizes available to whoever wins!

Another One Bites the Dust...

When I saw Amber's Linky party, I knew I had to join in on the fun! I still cannot believe that my first full year of teaching is about to be over. They year has absolutely flown by! There have been some really great things that have happened, but there have been some not so great things too.

To join the linky party it is easy! 

1. Head on over to Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher to find the original post.

2. Share three things that were great about this school year, and three things that were not so great. 

3. Be sure to link up your post with the linky party on Amber's blog. 

I have 13 days left this school year, really I guess it is 12.5 because the kids get out at 1:30 p.m. on the last day of school, but teachers still have a full day. I had no idea that I would love teaching as much as I have this year. I know that this is truly what I am called to do! This year was a good learning experience for me. There were some things that I just loved, and there are other things I have already planned to change before next year. 

The Great 

1. Reading and Writing Notebooks

(If you click the link, it will take you to all of my posts about my Reading and Writing Notebooks)

Creating interactive notebooks with my students was by far the best thing that I did this school year. I love that we have created a portfolio that they can take with them and use in the future too in their ELA classes. My kids seem to not mind taking notes nearly as much when we do them in their notebooks. I have also loved using foldables this year to help chunk their learning. I know the interacitve notebook is something that I will continue to use in my classroom for many years to come. 

2. Joining the Teacher Blogging Circuit

I had no idea what a wealth of resources were out there for teachers in the blogging world. There is a not a whole lot of collaboration and planning that I have been able to do at school because the other ELA teachers are pretty set in their ways and have no interest in changing them. 
I am so grateful for all of the wonderful ideas that I have found via blogs and also the opportunity to collaborate and email with so many of you. You've got to throw Pinterest into the mix too because it is pretty darn amazing. 

3. Daily 5 and CAFE

These two things have revolutionized how I teach. I got away from teaching in the whole group setting and started meeting with small groups after reading these two books. I did not implement CAFE until the spring semester, and I cannot wait to use it during the entire year this coming school year. I also was lucky enough to attend the Daily 5 and CAFE workshops when the sisters were in SA this year. The best professional development I have ever been to!

The Not So Great

1. Missing Scope and Sequence

That put a big wrench in my teaching this school year. Unfortunately my district only has once Curriculum Director for the entire district so this is not something that is provided to us. Luckily though, one of the other ELA teachers and myself plan on writing one for 6th grade this summer. I really struggled with not knowing what was next. I could see how it would be okay if you were not a first year teacher, but it did not work for me. Hopefully this will help and I will not be as stressed and trying to figure out what will be happening next week. 

2. Grad School, Coaching, and Teaching

I really think I had too much on my plate this spring and I am so glad that the busy part is over. I know that finishing Grad School will be worth it in the end, but it was so stressful this spring. I took 12 hours, taught full time, and was coaching two club volleyball teams. I will never be doing that again. Thank goodness I will be done with grad school on June 30th! 

3. Parent Communication

I have to agree with Amber on this one. I would really love to create a weekly newsletter or bi-weekly one that I would send home with students, email, and post to my class website. At the beginning of the school year I did a really great job of emailing a weekly update out to my parents, but I want to do that every week for the whole school year. I think a big reason why I stopped was because I was so busy and stressed this spring. I also really want us to create a monthly newsletter as a 6th grade team that we send home with our students to keep all the parents in the loop. 

So what was good and not so good about your school year? Head on over to Amber's blog and link up too!

Scope and Sequence Planning

A Scope and Sequence is something that I have really missed this year. One was not provided to me by my district and unfortunately I do not really have a team that is willing to put one together. I am now in the process of writing one for the upcoming school year because I have really hated not knowing what is going to come next.

I have been able to pull lots of great things from the school districts around me, but am still not sure how to exactly approach this. In my classes I have always been taught to start with the end of the year and go the first part of the year to make sure everything is covered.

Do you have someone in your district or on your campus that does the curriculum writing for you? Just curious as to how others do it.