Checking in

[teacherCA]

Hi all,

Just wanted to check in to see how everyone's year has been going. Mine seems to have flown past. We're in a great routine and I am really enjoying having a 4/5 combo. I already know I will be teaching it again next year. Anyone else already know what they are teaching next school year?

Anyone have any neat ideas that you use to save time going back and forth between the grade levels when teaching? I'll start with posting one that has really saved me time.

We have a ELMO document camera and a SmartBoard. I used to have to start with one book/worksheet under the doc camera and then walk back to switch it to the other grade level before continuing teaching. Now I just "capture" each lesson into a SmartBoard notebook file (using SmartTools and the doc cam, I take a picture of each page in my Teacher's Manual and the student workbook pages). I can now just flip back on forth while standing up at the SmartBoard and I never have to waste time walking back to the camera to switch books. It really makes the lessons flow much easier. When it is time to change subjects, I just open up the new Notebook file.

I hope you are all doing well! Only a few more months left!

[EMonkey]

It does seem to have flown by. I have been teaching a 1/2 combination. It sounds like I will be back to teaching first next year. I try and combine anything and everything I can in order to make it easier for the children and keep them connected with each other. I also tend to give the whole group the older student's instructions to give the younger children a chance to hear about one of the things they will be working on and then send them to work. Once the older students are at work I move to the younger students. If the older children are going to be doing something that will need a lot of modeling I switch the group which I inform first.