End of Year Reflections

As this school year is coming to a close (it's crazy, right?) I'm left wanting more for my students next year. Although I will still be teaching 5th grade ELA next year, it's going to be totally different. Our 5th grade team is completely departmentalizing next year. That means I'll teach four ELA classes instead of two. Unfortunately, that also means that I will only have about 70 minutes to teach reading, writing, grammar, allow independent reading, and still have reading conferences. I'm not a magician, and I'm not sure how in the world I'm going to do it all. So, my mind is racing right now on what my students absolutely need and what they could really do without.

So, here's what I've been thinking. These are just quick reflections and may totally change. I would love to hear how you incorporate some of these things in your own classrooms or some ideas you may have.

• No homework besides reading- this year I had a reading passage with questions and some type of constructed response, a reading log, and grammar homework. I will be cutting waaaaay back on this since I really will not have time to go over homework! I'm thinking about a reading log (definitely) and a passage with questions that will be reviewed on Fridays. So, I will not be checking homework each day which will be a huge time saver!
• Work from the moment they step foot in my door- Always have them doing something! I started using my seat work for this purpose and it's been wonderful! The students are busy with meaningful work from the moment they slip the work out of their binder. AND.. they know exactly what to do each day.
• No more small groups except for my struggling readers- Last year I did three rotations in each class, even with my gifted students. Although this was great and gave me an opportunity to really get to know all my students, I felt like there were some skills and some students that really didn't need the small group instruction.
• More Conferences- I love having reading conferences, but it's a challenge to fit them all in. Next year I am hoping to do less small group and more individual conferencing on a regular basis... not just when I have time... whenever that is!!
• Incorporate grammar within my reading and writing instruction- last year I taught grammar as stand-alone instruction. Next year I am going to embed it more into my reading and writing instruction. This is mainly due to time and they way students are assessed on our state assessment.
• More goal setting- This is a goal I have at the beginning of each year. Then, the craziness of the beginning of the year approaches and before you know it, half the year is gone! 
• Incorporate more close reading- I LOVE close reading! There are some really good resources out there if you look for them! I am wanting to incorporate this even more next year!

I'm sure this list will continue to grow. If I have and ah-ha! moments, I'll be sure to come back and tell you about theme!

What are your next year resolutions?