Things done differently for next year!

[MsCoffeeLover]

We are nearing the end of another year, and it is always important to reflect upon things that worked and things we plan on doing differently for next year. There are a few things that I am going to do differently, and if others are willing, share a few ideas as well.

1. Rolodex for my parent contacts: I have this super huge notebook that keeps getting bigger and bigger for all of the paper work that needs to be attached. There isn't a workbook thick enough. I think I am going to file more per student, but keep like a rolodex or some organizational box that is smaller where I can put parent information as well as document each consequence, correspondence, whatever documentation on a 4x6 note card that can be filed more easily--next to my computer where I need it quickly!

2. Website: We have a teacher page that isn't very user friendly. I post some things there, but not as much as I would like. Parents and students need a user name and password, and I just want a link that can be accessed anywhere. My team mate and I discussed having a teacher myspace page because so many parents are students are on myspace. We won't be able to access it at work because of filters, but there is much we can do with a free site. I will be posting attachments, power points, links, notes, assignments on word documents, etc.

3. List serve: I already keep all parent emails in an address book, but I am going to do more with that.

4. More Demographic information: It won't be basic home and work phone numbers. There is going to be options to list home, work, and cell phone numbers for both parents and guardians as well as more than one email address!

5. Donations at the beginning of the school year. I have never really asked for more than paper and something to write with and a handful of supplies, but I may ask for a few more things from more than just homeroom and hope for the best. You can never have too many paper towels, Kleenex, and hand sanitizer, but I may ask for students to bring in packs of markers specifically for my class or a ream of paper as well as donations of lots of extra pens and pencils. We shall see!

6. Prioritize my list of things to buy with teacher funds. Paper is a scarce commodity. We got donations this year that allowed us to have one box at the beginning of the year and one box at mid term. You get no more after that. I may actually buy a box of paper. Apparently, we need to request awards from one person, and I don't like that person, so I am about ready to buy my own award certificates so I don't have to go through that every quarter. However, I got lucky as the PTSA president is on our 7th grade team, and she took it upon herself to create some formula that gets as a years worth of awards and a few extra for the entire 7th grade team. I was so thankful!

7. Start a bunch of new notebooks. Little did I know I needed so many. Keeping up with meetings, trainings, professional development, and all of the other things we do to bring parents, teachers, students, and the community together is seriously hard work. They don't tell you about all of those notebooks in school.

8. Bookshelves are apparently scarce. I am in a trailer and don't have one and have been trying to get a bookshelf from one of the teacher's that is leaving. Who knew? This has proven to be more challenging than I could have ever thought. I am ready to buy my own.

9. Start my children's library for literature across the science and social studies curriculum.

10. I may get one of those fax/copiers/scanners. That would come in mighty handy.

Those are just a handful of things I would do differently for next year. What are yours?

[Want2Teach]

Why not just use outlook or another contact manager since you have a computer?

I you have internet access, you can use an internet based communication program to access your class computer at home, so that if you need a contact you can get it. You could also sync outlook to your cell phone, pda or even your mp3 player.

The Donations item confuses me. Does your school consider school supplies to be donations? Forgive me, I'm new and have only worked as a sub, and the various school supply systems is confusing. I think some of it is related to Title I funding and some of it is teacher's choice? (Yes, this really is a question.)

If you have a friend with a business, you may want to solicit "awards" items from them. Many businesses will donate small prizes, certificates etc, in exchange for being mentioned in a football bulletin or even a note to parents. It's cheap advertising.

Outlook or some other contact manager will help with item number 7 also.

I didn't realize that you would be responsible for your school library and shelving. Is this purchased from budgeted funds or do you do that personally?

The fax/copier/scanner is a great investment.

[Spectre]

Much of what I will do will depend upon where I am and what I am doing, but here are some generics. Comments are welcome but let's please make them constructive. CNO.tookie, if you're out there again, under another name....:eek: don't bother!!!

I found out, about halfway through my school year, that fewer items got lost and I got fewer "I did it, you lost it!" situations when I started doing nearly all of our work in science notebooks. Yes, a few misplaced their entire notebook but eventually found them. One, midcourse correction I need to make. My notebooks need to be the bound type, not the spiral sort. Bound ones tend to last longer. I learned awhile back not to have the three ring binders, as all manner of things fell out of them and all other manner of things found their way in.

I even shrunk worksheets, this year, and lab sheets and had the student glue them onto a notebook page. Some of my more motivated students actually took to gluing the quizzes I gave them into the notebooks too. For those not given to doing that, I offered the option of having a pocket folder. The problem with them was that, too often, the folders tore or things fell out of them or foreign things wound up in them. Think I will require that even tests and quizzes get put into the notebooks next school year, again, depending on where I am and what I am doing. When we had student led conferences, the students just took their science notebook to the conference.

And speaking of quizzes (I was, wasn't I?), I plan to give fewer of them, relying instead on labs and other in class activities. I found they just took up too much time and energy with little real benefit.

I will continue to give unit tests, but plan on trying a new strategy. I normally do not allow for retests, but I am thinking of doing that, when a student does not do particularly well. The catch is that the re-test will be all essay or short answer. Since they will have a second chance and more time to prepare than others did, their assessment should be a bit more demanding. Again, this is all contingent on where I am and what I am doing.

I need to incorporate more math, particularly metrics, into my science classes. These are skills that are important to students in science. It helps out our math specialist too.

[SS Rocks!]

Too much to list...

I'll be going into my second year and there are a ton of things I want to do differently. It's not that I think I did a bad job this year, but I have noticed a number of areas where I either need to make big changes or little adjustments to improve myself as a teacher for next year. The biggest things I need to change are:

1. Classroom Management - Throughout the year I've learned some do's and many don'ts. I plan on spending more time "training" my students next year and establishing routines from the very beginning.

2. Organization - I am going to work on a new organizational system for myself and students over the summer. I'm going to have my students keep everything in a spiral notebook with tape and glue rather than three ring binders. I have 6th graders in a middle school and they have major problems with organization. I want to do more to help them with their organizational skills as well.

3. Improve Communication - I was really apprehensive to call parents when there were issues this year. I saw, though, that often communicating with a parent can make a HUGE difference in student behavior and performance. I'm going to try to be more proactive when it comes to contacting parents.

[MsCoffeeLover]

SSRocks, that is a good list, and feel free to discuss them here. I would love to help out, and have really found a lot of ways to communicate with parents.

I try to be so thorough that there is no reason for anyone to contact me, but I also try to be so thorough that there is no reason anyone should be failing my class. Even the principals know that.

Spectre, I like the idea of a notebook and thought about composition notebooks for my kids instead.

We have a list of school supplies, but I don't ask for as many things as other teachers ask for. This year I may ask the students to bring in a few more things, but some parents donate a little more. However, I also have request letters to ask for donations from local businesses as incentives for the kids.

I am in a trailer that doesn't have a new book shelf. The school is fairly new, but I asked for a book shelf. There are no more, but we are getting a new wing, and I will have a room with a book shelf. Until then, I am going to get one from somewhere and have asked the custodial staff to keep an eye on furniture for me and who is leaving.

I am big into reusing before buying.

[wig]

Great ideas!!! We are moving to a new building. Sorting, tossing, packing is a real nightmare, but it will be a great opportunity for me to become more organized. My biggest downfall is filing. I have decided that since it is not realistic that I will file immediately, I am going to use a compartmentalized organizer and ant least put things in the right slot for filing later.

2. Website: We have a teacher page that isn't very user friendly. I post some things there, but not as much as I would like. Parents and students need a user name and password, and I just want a link that can be accessed anywhere. My team mate and I discussed having a teacher myspace page because so many parents are students are on myspace. We won't be able to access it at work because of filters, but there is much we can do with a free site. I will be posting attachments, power points, links, notes, assignments on word documents, etc.


I don't recall what grade level you teach (7th?), but for My Space, don't you have to be 14 according to the terms of agreement? Wouldn't using it encourage those under 14 to lie about their age. Of course I realize that there are MANY on MySpace that are underage, but in my school there would be upset parents if you used MySpace. Just a thought.

[Chef Dave]

Next year I'm implementing a partial static menu in our student restaurant. A static menu is one which does not change on a daily basis. We will continue to have a daily changing plated special and may also have a daily changing fast food special.

Advanced culinary students were awarded culinary jackets that bore their names. They also received hats and aprons. The aprons bore the name of our student restaurant.

After watching the students don their clothing, I decided that they actually LOOKED like culinary students.

I am therefore buying jackets for all students next year. The jackets will be worn on a daily basis. Students have previously worn close toed shoes, aprons, hats or hairnets, and food handler gloves. The use of jackets will give them a more uniform appearance and the long sleeves and upturned collars will reduce minor injuries that occurred from brushing against hot pans or being splattered with hot water or oil.

I'll also be taking a page out of my experience as a former elementary teacher. Graded papers will be returned to students each week. To avoid having students complain over the lack of a study guide, students will not take these papers home until the end of the semester. Each student will have a manila folder to store his/her papers in after they're handed out. All manila folders will be kept in a file folder box in my office.

[jsfowler]

On the top of my list is organization. I have already bought some new storage bins at walmart and I am going to finally use that label maker I have had for a while now. I am also going to buy some more 3 ring binders and get my units out of the filing folders and into the binders.

I am also going to do better with parent communication. I am going to make it a point to call 3 parents a week (whether it is a good report or a concern). Also, I am going to create a wikispace so that parents can see what is going on in our class. MsCoffeeLover gave me the idea of inviting parents after school to work on projects with their kids. I am making it a goal to do this at least once a 9 weeks grading period.

As for classroom strategies, I will be incorporating Power Teaching and Interactive Student Notebooks...I am VERY excited about both of these!

[MsCoffeeLover]

Love the idea of the wikispace and will look into it further.

I also thought about starting a club or a group for next year (depending upon the kids I have). We don't have any reading or writing clubs. We don't have that many clubs at all.

I was thinking about starting or becoming involved with mentoring. There are a few kids that just need someone to take them under their wing, and I think I want to do that--especially after meeting some of the the kids I have this year. There are a few that are enjoyable to talk to, but don't have a lot of friends. I am going to mention that to the guidance counselor.

I highly encourage taking the time needed to create an email address book specifically for parents. I can't even begin to tell you how that has helped me. Emails offer documentation as well as less phone calls. It was the best thing I could have done this year.

[WVmtnlady]

jsfowler, I found a truly amazing site from a teacher for 6th grade SS interactive notebooks. His information is astounding! The site is: http://www.nonags.org/members/dasaunders.
As a new teacher (without a job yet!), I'm constantly online checking out everything possible that I can use for my own class (when I get one!).
Mscoffeelover, a friend of mine mentioned a site that allows you to post grades, upload files, talk with students, keep attendance, and etc. It is at:
http://engrade.com (http://www.engrade.com).
I hope this may be of some help. :D

[wig]

I used engrade until our school switched over to an administrative program. I loved it.

The interactive notebook one you posted is one of my favorites. There are additional links on this wikispace: http://interactive-notebooks.wikispaces.com/

[MsCoffeeLover]

After this whole textbook assessment and damages things, I am either going to use a class set of books and not even distribute the books or if they distribute science books, I am going to tell the kids to keep the books in their lockers and never bring them.

My new thing is discovering new ways to teach science without a textbook. Am I giving up reading? Nope! I am just going to find alternate ways to incorporate reading into the science curriculum that doesn't include a text book.

[SS Rocks!]

I'm with you! When I gave out textbooks this year, I had enough to have a class set and give each student one. Less than a month into the year, I realized that the books were written beyond the average sixth grade reading level and organized poorly. About 3/4 of my accelerated class could handle the reading.

I've had to find ways to get around this issue while keeping kids reading. We have something called History Alive! which is a supplemental resource with many activities for kids of which nearly 3/4 of them are based on reading. I've also taken to typing excerpts from out text book while simplifying some of the vocabulary and editing some of the content for the better.

[Boxcar]

That sounds like a good solution. You aren't eliminating what you feel is important. You are just finding a different way to accomplish the goal.

[MsCoffeeLover]

With that in mind, does anyone know of any class sets of science magazines or current events in science? It would be nice to have a weekly or bimonthly magazine to incorporate into the science curriculum.

I could start utilizing Time for kids and national geographic as well, but class sets....that is what I wouldn't mind finding out about.

[Boxcar]

I know a lot of people/students like Discover magazine...

[sgaestel]

ORGANIZE! This is my major area of concern, because I am so unorganized, and in the end, that really only affects me. Being on a cart this year enhanced my need for better organizational skills, and I plan on getting much better at organization.
I want to organize my lessons so they are easier to get ready. While I know what I want to teach, I seem to feel like I am constantly recreating lessons that I have misplaced or accidently filed in the round filing cabinet.
I also want to make sure I am more on top of my grading next year. I want to give myself only a 48 hour turn-around time in getting papers graded (research papers excluded).
I agree with you, ms cl, I need to enhance my communication with parents. I am still hatching up ideas for this now.
Luckily, I have two weeks of working with no kids, so I should have plenty of time at the end of the year to start on next year's goals!

[Boxcar]

I'm also terrible at organization. I mostly just re-arrange the mess. Then, I call it a day and shove it all out of sight.

[MsCoffeeLover]

As for communication with parents, I will be more than happy to help in way possible and am always looking for additional suggestions as well.

As for organization, one thing that helps me is that I am a minimalist and don't like clutter or too much stuff. I don't ask for much, and I don't keep much. My stuff is already packed. I have also been shuffled around to a few schools, so that may have something to do with it.

[Boxcar]

i'm an incurable packrat and sentimentalist... Maybe you can come clean up my stuff for me...?

[MsCoffeeLover]

i'm an incurable packrat and sentimentalist... Maybe you can come clean up my stuff for me...?

Sure thing! but I think I have an addiction. :) I could care less about the rest of the house, but the idea of creating an office and organizing actually excites me. I am forever eyeballing storage bins and cases and partitions and whatever can maximize space and have little clutter. My eyes are drawn to boxes and baskets and bins and whatever, which is ironic because I have no stuff to put anything in. Going to an office store is actually considered a fun day. There is just something about office supplies and organizing business thing.

When I am under serious stress, the world around me gets considerably cleaner, neater, and clutter free. You won't see anything anywhere! Plus, I purge or reuse or recycle stuff on a regular basis.

Organizing is a great way to seriously put all of your science process skills to work, and that thought just motivated an idea.

[carrieSAtoUSA]

2. Website: We have a teacher page that isn't very user friendly. I post some things there, but not as much as I would like. Parents and students need a user name and password, and I just want a link that can be accessed anywhere. My team mate and I discussed having a teacher myspace page because so many parents are students are on myspace. We won't be able to access it at work because of filters, but there is much we can do with a free site. I will be posting attachments, power points, links, notes, assignments on word documents, etc.


I used bravehost.com this year to post my class website. It is free and I found that it worked really well. You are welcome to go and look at it : camons.bravehost.com. I found it to be really user-friendly.

I love your list. It made me think a little about what I need to do next year. This was my first year in 5th grade and there is a lot that I want to change. Organization is top of my list. I could not get my filing done on a daily basis. I also want to train my kids from day one in various things - their filing of notes, etc. I guess it's something that you have to rehearse every day for the first few weeks until everything become a habit (they say it takes 21 days to form a habit!).

Thanks for sharing!

[Boxcar]

I love going to the office supply store. They have so many neat little things that are just so fun. Unfortuantely, I'm not great at using what I buy. I still enjoy the stores though!

[Boxcar]

21 days to form a habit... that is really good to know...

[carrieSAtoUSA]

With that in mind, does anyone know of any class sets of science magazines or current events in science? It would be nice to have a weekly or bimonthly magazine to incorporate into the science curriculum.

I could start utilizing Time for kids and national geographic as well, but class sets....that is what I wouldn't mind finding out about.

Weekly Reader is a great magazine. They have copies of it under different subjects - Science being one of them. Here is the link : http://www.weeklyreader.com/teachers/current_science/

[merrynl]

Weekly Reader is a great magazine. They have copies of it under different subjects - Science being one of them. Here is the link : http://www.weeklyreader.com/teachers/current_science/

You might also want to look into ChemMatters.

http://portal.acs.org:80/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_TRANSITIONMAIN&node_id=1090&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1

[MsCoffeeLover]

I was trying to remember what I said I was going to do, but decided to bring back the thread because there is lots of activity buzzing about, and I hope it helps the newbies!

[Clix]

I blogposted on this at http://uncomfortableadventures.blogspot.com/2008/04/hopes-for-next-year-yes-already.html

I need to look over the list and update/revise based on what I've already used and how it's worked.