The 2019-2020 school year ended like no other and the 2020-2021 school year will surely start like no other! I’ve seen posts from teachers that their district is beginning completely online, some districts are going back full force, and others are following a hybrid model.
My district will be following the hybrid model with cohorts of students attending school on certain days of the week. Families also have the option to keep their child at home for 100% remote learning. Considering the huge change to the start of the school year, teachers must prepare differently.
PHYSICAL SPACE
I have started my preparation very slowly. I will not be buying anything for my classroom, since I didn’t even get the chance to close out my classroom. The uncertainty of it all makes me not want to buy much until we have more definitive answers.
CURRICULUM
Now, I can always prepare for curriculum and teaching! As educators, we are always reflecting; so there is so much that I want to change for the beginning of the year instruction. Of course there will be a huge focus on social emotional learning and mastery of 2nd grade skills.
MATH
I want to be as prepared as possible, so there are changes I am making to my math instruction. I have created Mini Math Anchor Charts that will be more helpful for small group instruction. The charts will be easily accessible for my students and I. I want to incorporate more math talks this year. More than likely, students will be coming in a bit below level and I think a bigger focus on math talks and problem of the day will be extremely beneficial.
READING BLOCK
My reading block usually consists of shared reading, reading mini lesson, then guided reading. I want to time it out better where I can incorporate read aloud time as well. I have to be more strategic and intentional about including this read aloud time. If I do so, then I can use the read aloud to teach the skills for the mini lesson and guided reading group.
WRITING BLOCK
Writing is my FOCUS this year!! I never really look forward to teaching writing but this summer I am reading up and improving on those skills. I want to start my Starbucks Time again in 3rd grade. When I used it in kindergarten, my students began to LOVE writing. I want to incorporate this writing time at the beginning of the period and interchange it with a partner reflection of work from the previous day. I also want to include more reflection time at the end of the period as well.
My major focus this summer will be perfecting how I bring my students through the writing process and what those lessons will look like!
STAY TUNED!
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