The Book Whisperer Project

   I just finished reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.  I must say it certainly didn't take me long to read.  This book has made me rethink how I will teach language arts next year.  The overall idea of the book is that students should be given time to read what they choose to read and teachers should be passionate about helping them find good books to read.  This past school year I tried to find whole class novels that I thought the majority of the class would enjoy reading but I always knew it was impossible to find something that sixty students are going to all enjoy.  Now that this book has given me the encouragement to teach language arts in a different way I have to decide exactly how I want to run my classroom next year.  Here are some things I have to ponder throughout the summer:

1. How will I set up my classroom library?

2.  Will I set up a classroom library checkout system?

3.  How will my readers notebook look?

4.  What requirements will I set up to assess that my students are growing as readers?

5.  Will I stick to the 40 book goal Miller suggests in her book?

6.  How much time will I give students to read in class?

7.  How will I continue to address the common core while allowing students to read what they want?

     The great thing about my school is that teachers are given a lot of freedom to teach how they want as long as they are following the common core standards.  There are no novel requirements, however most teachers in my school teach using whole class novels.  For some, they have great test scores using this strategy. However, I really want to foster a lifelong love of reading in my students so I'm going to give The Book Whisperer movement a try.

     I'm sure there are many other teachers out there planning on trying this next year as well.  I'd love for us to get together and feed ideas off of us other as to how we plan on setting up for the new year.  It would also be fun to keep in contact with each other as our school year progresses to learn from each other what works and what doesn't. 

     If you are interested in collaborating please comment on this post and include a link to your blog or a way I can contact you.  Once several have commented I will put together a live chat session where we can start planning together. Please note that this isn't a book study I am trying to start. I believe another blog is doing that.  This is just a way for everyone to discuss with each other how they plan on revamping their classrooms. I'm hoping that we can also remain in contact with each other to see how it is going.  Feel free to add this button to your blog if you are interested!

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Currently...June

As today was our last day of school, I'm just now having time to do Farley's currently for the month!

Listening:  I am currently watching The Foster's on ABC Family.  I have been trying to find a new summer show since all the good ones are on break till the fall.

Loving:  Today was the last day of the school year.  If that isn't something to love then I don't know what is!

Thinking:  I have been so blessed this year to have met such wonderful people and to make such great new friends at work.  I have grown a lot as a person and I'm so thankful for everything God has blessed me with.

Wanting:  I am hoping to go to the beach within the next week.  I need some time in the sun and a break away from everything.

Needing:  We still have a few teacher work days left and I hope to make the most of them by organizing my room for next year.

3 Vacay Essentials:  I can't lay outside without having a book to read so I must have my bag of books with me or my nook.  I also can't live with sunglasses, I don't even care if I get a tan line.  Cherries are also essential for the beach.  I love taking a bag of Bing cherries on the beach with me.  I can eat almost a pound in two days. At least they are semi-healthy!

Year One Down!

    Today was the last day of school for students.   This year has been pretty challenging so I can easily say that I'm glad it's over.  There are SO many things that I will be changing next year that I'm pretty excited about.  What I need right now though is a break from everything to do with teaching.  We have teacher workdays until Thursday and then I will be vacationing for at least a week.  I'm planning on visiting a friend from college and then going to the beach with a co-worker.  When I get back from the beach there are a lot of things I have still have planned for the summer.  One of the biggest things I am looking forward to is going on a mission trip in July to Belize.  A large group from my church will be going to do various things such a food ministry, building a classroom and vacation bible school. 
   Also in my agenda for the summer is to catch up on some leisure reading.  I've got a whole Pinterest board dedicated to books I want to read.  I've also been reading a book called "The Book Whisperer," which is making me want to read even more so that I can better recommend books to my students next year.  I also plan on spending some time getting back into shape by doing some running.  I ran a 5K a couple weeks ago and really enjoyed it.  I want to try to keep up with running so I can race.
   I guess what is most exciting about this summer is that I am completely free!  I don't have anything or anyone to tie me down.  No summer classes or boyfriend, so I'm really looking forward to a summer to myself. I want to take the time to relax and rejuvenate for another great year of teaching!
    Happy summer everyone!

Currently...May

Catching up on posts today, so here is my currently for this month.

I am currently listening to different playlists on Spotify.  Whenever I'm not in a certain mood I just turn on random songs. I'm always listening to something.

I'm loving that field day is tomorrow.  A whole day that I don't have to plan anything.  Now that is something to be excited about.

I'm thinking about what to do this summer because it will be my first free summer since high school. Every other summer I had taken college classes or worked.  A whole summer off should be pretty fun!  I'm looking forward to trips, laying out by the pool and just relaxing.

I'm really wanting someone to come to my classroom and clean it up.  I have my students clean every day but it is still left a mess.  I've also been way too busy to stay organized so I'm hoping to have a chance to get caught up here soon.

I need to get caught up on grades.  I have very few grades entered into the computer and still a couple assignments to finish grading.  Progress reports come out the end of this week so I have to get busy!

My Summer bucket list includes going on a mission trip to Belize, visiting Charleston for the first time and catching up on some leisure reading.

Facing Reality

    These past couple of months have been much busier than I expected them to be.  They have also be extremely stressful with pressure to get students ready for EOG's.  I also had cheerleading tryouts and trying to help the new squad with fundraisers which also added to my stress load.

    I never would have imagined being a first year teacher would be as hard as it has been. I'm finding out that few things turn out they way we expect them to.  I have literally pulled out my hair these past month with all the issues I've had to deal with.  However, I've also learned more about myself and teaching than in the past 6 months combined.  The most important lesson that I've learned is to not take anything personal.  I remember at the beginning of the school year I wanted everyone to like me and to be so excited to learn.  I've had a major reality check lately when I finally realized that being a good teacher has absolutely nothing to do with winning "likes" from students.  Next year I will approach teaching with a whole new perspective, knowing that things aren't going to go perfectly no matter how many different things I try.

    At this point I have no idea where life will take me.  I'm not 100% sure that I want to teach sixth grade again next year.  I've applied for some special education positions and I've even thought about trying elementary school or college.  At the same time I feel like I should give sixth grade another year, especially with all the resources I have now.  No matter what happens I am leaning to God to show me where I'm supposed to be.  I have a lot of praying to be doing!

   Only 23 days left of school until Summer!  Now that is some reality I can deal with.  

Preparing for the final stretch

     Spring break is coming to an end and the final quarter of the year starts on Monday. I decided to work both optional workdays this week to try to get ahead for the upcoming weeks.  When I walked into my classroom the first workday my room was a complete mess.

       Thursday I wrote out a to-do list and tried to knock out as much as I could.  By 4:30 I realized that there was no way I would get lessons planned and my room organized so I decided to work again Friday.  I am so thankful I did as I got everything I wanted to accomplished. I planned a poetry unit which will last me at least 3 weeks and I wrote out 2 weeks of Social Studies lesson plans. Walking out of the building on Friday was a huge relief.

Although it isn't completely clean, being able to see the table is so nice!

Compared to the before picture, this is a major improvement!

Decided to try groups again, hopefully this isn't a huge mistake at the end of the year.

Bulletin board I created for my poetry unit.  The leaves have the vocabulary
they will be learning.  On the trunk of a tree I will post a new poem each day we will read together.

      Third quarter was very hard for me.  My students lacked motivation to learn and their behavior was just terrible.  This seemed to be the same for most teachers in our school.  It really started to suck the love of teaching right out of me.  There were times when I questioned whether or not I could even do this for another year.
    Once those thoughts started going through my head I had to take some time to step back and look at why I was so unhappy.  Before starting my first full year I had these big dreams of getting every student in the room to be excited to learn, to become teacher of the year, to never have to give any failing grades, to have parents who supportive and wanted to help.  The reality is that those dreams were just a set up for a big let down and there probably isn't one first year teacher in the world who could actually accomplish all of those things.  Sure this year has been stressful and not what I expected but without challenges in life there would never be room to grow.
   That being said, I decided in order to bring back my love for teaching I have to change myself, not the kids.  Being able to get ahead on lessons and having a reorganized room will help me with a fresh start for the last quarter.  I also wrote my students a letter that I will be giving them on Monday.  It pretty much says that I want to make the last quarter the best that we can and that I have a lot of exciting things planned. My students could tell by the end of the last quarter that I was getting burnt out and I want them to see that we can all come back from Spring break refreshed and ready to give it our all.  I've been having long talks with God to help me back this quarter much better.  I'll be entering the classroom Monday with excitement in my eyes and hope that I can it returned from even just a few students.
   Good luck to everyone else as we are all on the final stretch!

Currently...April

It is a new month which means it's time for Farley's Currently. 

    Right now my niece and nephew are over at my house.  It is nice to get to spend some time with them over Spring break.  We have been out of school since last Wednesday.  Tomorrow and Friday are optional days and I decided to work tomorrow just so I can have the rest of the weekend to relax and not think about school.  This break has been much needed and I've tried very hard not to think too much about work.
    My goal over Spring break was to finish at least two books.  I've been doing too many other things for that to happen thus far but one book I really want to try to finish is The Hobbit.  If I have time I'd also like to read The Glass Castle.
   Friday is my dad's birthday and Saturday is my niece's first birthday party.  I need to get some shopping done before then but both of them are pretty hard to buy for.  My dad has every tool you could think of and my niece probably already has every toy made for one year old's.
   My advice to leave work at school is something I need to really listen to myself.  It has been such a great week knowing that I don't have to think about school for a while.  I need to get in the habit of leaving work at school and not thinking about it when I get home.
   For now I'm going to enjoy what is left of Spring break!  Have a great week.