Quick Question

[JBBallard]

I will be working at a school with block scheduling when the school year begins in August. I have no experience whatsoever with block scheduling and have heard pros and cons on this mode of scheduling as well. I wanted to know how those of you who have block scheduling feel about it and if you prefer it to other forms of scheduling.

Also, I must admit that while I'll love the idea of having an hour and a half for planning, I am a bit worried about keeping my students on task for such a long period. Any suggestions here would help too.

Sorry guys. I should've clarified in the beginning that block scheduling for my school is 90 minute periods on an A/B schedule. Students attend classes every other day.

Thanks in advance.

[teacher5]

I am not sure what your definition of Block Scheduliing is? In my school district, at the elementary level, block scheduling is a period of time when you are mandated to teach ELA and/or Math and no students are pulled out of the room for support or any kind of academic intervention. The special ed teacher may push in to support those students who have IEPs or an aide or assistant may work with those children in the room, but no one leaves, except for emergencies. At the middle school level, students have a double period of ELA every day, and a double period of math on one day, none the next, and on that next day they have a double period of science. The students adjust easily to this kind of scheduling. It does take careful planning to keep students motivated and going for the entire period. You often need to plan for a variety of acitivities to sustain interest, especially at the elementary level. The middle school teachers seem to like it a lot because they can start and finish something or expand the lesson, too. Good Luck!:)

[Brit]

at my last schoo, the periods were 50-some-odd minutes long, and at first, I worried about keeping my grade 2's on-task for that long. Well, in reality, my lessons were broken into about 3 parts, so a little under 20 minutes a chunk; I had the initial instruction then the practice time, then the review and revision of practice work. Between each chunk, the kids had a "micro break" as they set-up/packed up materials, and moved from one location in the room to another. Often, too, my practice time involved group work or hands-on tasks. I found the big chunk of time IDEAL, and that was with 7-and-8-year-olds.

I don't know what the expectations are for you for your 90-minute periods, but I have a feeling that once you break up your lessons into their component parts, you'll end up liking having all that time.

[Boxcar]

Breaking up the lessons sounds like a wise idea.

[merrynl]

Most students can't concentrate on any activity for more than 15-20 minutes. Think about how you can break up lessons into smaller chunks of material. Obviously, there are some activities (like science labs) that can't be broken up, but many can be.

For instance, I might start a chemistry class with a quick write in their science notebooks based on something we're doing that day. Then I might do a demo, do a think-pair-share about it, and then introduce the math/word problems that go along with the topic. Work them on the board, ask the kids to try them on their own, then discuss. Then I might give them a short reading on a real life application of the topic, and discuss the reading/questions about the reading in class. I'd end the class by assigning a few problems homework and letting the kids start in class to make sure they understand what to do.

90 minutes can seem like an eternity, but if you're prepared it can be wonderful. It is especially wonderful when the kids need more than 40 minutes to work on something. My best advice is to always plan extra. Have things for the next day or extra stuff for the kids to do (that's class relevant... not just busy work) so there isn't a lot of time left over. Sometimes things will go quicker than anticipated.

[hweber]

I think you need to do many different activities to keep them interested and on task. I like Merrynl ideas.

[SashaBear]

I student taught with block scheduling. I loved it but noticed that most of the older teachers in the building didn't know what to do with it. And with block scheduling you are actually seeing the students for a less amount of time per week so you have to make the time with you count.

I would try to always have a fun activity to break up the time. This is when we would do games, skits, etc. Other teachers would use it as study time or read time and they were just wasting that valuabl

[irish223]

I've never had a block schedule, but my sons did when they were in high school.

Merrynl's post includes everything good that my kids experienced with block scheduling. The variety of learning activities kept them interested and engaged. On the other hand, the classes that were 90 minutes of straight lecture were torture for them.

They also felt that they had less homework every day since they had fewer classes per day. I don't know if that's really true, but if so, maybe you'll have less grading! :D

[hweber]

My kids went from block scheduling to regular scheduling and they liked block scheduling better. It was great for the science teacher!

[dsmms]

We have block scheduling in our high schools. As a parent of a Junior and a Freshmn, I found that this scheduling forces the teachers to have to cram alot of information into those 90 minute sessions to cover all the curriculum requirements. Results of a recent survey for our county was just released and I did not see any positive comments about block scheduling. The biggest complaint from teachers was that students could only absorb so much information at any given time. This makes it very difficult to cover everything they need to during the semester.

Incidently, my daughters' high school is implementing a "Freshman Academy" in which all ninth graders will have 60 minute core classes for the entire year. Next year they will graduate to the block schedule.

Donna

[lbuchanan]

I have a question for everyone. I've heard others talk about numbering the students in the room and then when papers are taken up or handed out the number starting out at one is called out making things much easier. When should this be done? Kids are coming and going at the beginning of school and what do you do when a student leaves, just leave that number blank?

Thanks, I would like to try this.

[teacher5]

Since I must keep an inventory or all my text and workbooks, each one is numbered and assigned to a specific student. I don't number their papers, but use good old fashioned alphabetical order in organizing papers and files. If a student happens to leave, they turn in their books, I cross their name off assigned to that number, and if I get a new entrant, they get the new number. Filing papers in folders alphabetically, they just fit in. In my grade book, I put them at the bottom of the alphabetical list until the marking period ends. When the next period begins, they get aligned alphabetically. After the first three days of school, unless told otherwise, my roster is pretty well set. So I don't align my grade book unitl day 4. May be once or twice a year I lose a student or get a new entrant. I feel really lucky not to have a revovling door. Good luck!

[coco2]

I'm a science teacher at the elementary level and I have been BEGGING for 4 years to let me teach in a block of time. I am turned down every year. This year I am asking for only 1 day out of the week to be blocked, but I doubt I'll get very far with that.

What do you teach? I think a block would be great for all subjects. Well, I have little experience teaching math, so I'm not sure about that one. Just make sure you are changing the activity every 15 or so minutes, depending on the age. Teaching in a block would be so convenient for me. We waste so much time with transitions ( they come to my room) starting and stopping and trying to pick up where we left off the previous day. I would love to have time to have the kids be able to THINK THINGS THROUGH, which is very difficult when you are trying to beat the clock.

[JBBallard]

I teach English 1 CP and Honors. I'm thinking the block scheduling is going to be good, especially for my subject. We shall see if I'm right or wrong beginning Tuesday.

[dsmms]

I have a question for everyone. I've heard others talk about numbering the students in the room and then when papers are taken up or handed out the number starting out at one is called out making things much easier. When should this be done? Kids are coming and going at the beginning of school and what do you do when a student leaves, just leave that number blank?

Thanks, I would like to try this.

I do this! I love it! School started last week, Aug. 11, and we are still juggling students trying to get them placed in the appropriate level classes. I will assign numbers on Monday. If any new students enroll in a class, I add them to the bottom of the roster and assign their number accordingly. If someone leaves, that number stays blank. I reassign the number at the beginning of each grading period as the rosters are ever changing. I have the students write their number in their agendas so they won't forget. This system makes it easier to input grades, and keep track of missing assignments. I have the students turn work into a numbered pocket chart. I can see at a glance which pockets are empty. This year I am making a "Missing Assignment Form" for the students to fill out and put in their numbered pocket. That way, I will have no one accusing me of "losing" their work. I think this is going to work nicely, but I'll have to get back to you for the final result!

Hope this helps!
Donna

[jsfowler]

I would love to have block scheduling. Last year, my classes were 75 minutes...this year 65 because my team and I decided to add an academic enrichment class at the end of the day to accommodate both gifted/talented students and struggling students.

I teach 7th grade LA...I follow reader's/writer's workshop and this is my schedule this year:

5 minutes - GOT Grammar? (mainly cover editing strategies)
10-15 minutes - mini-lesson (reading/writing strategies)
10 minutes - Read Aloud (I read aloud to my students every day!)
30 minutes - Independent/Paired Reading, Writing, and/or Conferencing
5-10 minutes - Share

If I had Block scheduling, I would add 5 more minutes to Read Aloud, 15 minutes to my independent/paired reading, writing, conferencing, and 5 minuntes to Share.

My days go by so quickly...I could really use more time. Right now, I seem to be scheduling too much at the beginning and my students are not getting the true 30 minutes of reading/writing and many days Share goes out the window. This week, I will try to do better by setting a timer I bought yesterday to remind myself "time's up"!