[LIT] The BIG question - expert advice needed!

[Maggie Dillier]

Thanks, Ashli! (I'm in Irving, by the way.) My district has a curriculum,
sure, but it is based on comprehension tests and book reports and all that
icky stuff that I don't want to do. It's also based around genres, and I am
just not sure about that. *So, everyone, if you can't find the time to
respond to my whole email, can you at least tell me*: *Do you base your
curriculum on genres (Sept = fiction, Oct = poetry...) or strategies (Sept =
making connections, Oct = synthesizing...)?* I have been thinking about this
for so long, and I just can't decide. Please help!!!

~Maggie
5th/TX


On 7/23/07, Ashli and Paul Andersen <andersen7279 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> First things first.  BREATHE!  It took me going on 6 years to figure out
> that I can't be super teacher and teach EVERTYTHING.  ...I just try to
> make
> it look like I do.  Don't beat yourself up.  You are on this list serv and
> that is a BIG advantage and shows your professionalism.
> That being said...
> Here is my 2 cents
> 1.  I teach in TX too.  Most districts have a scope and sequence that says
> to teach x stuff the first 6 weeks, y stuff the second, etc.  Try to find
> yours.  I didn't have one my first year (in Arkansas) and was totally
> lost.
> Having one the last 4 really made a difference.  Your department head is
> the
> go to person for that.  I have learned that balance is the key and I try
> not
> to do too much in isolation.  I teach everything through novels.  (This
> year
> I will try to add short stories in the mix)  Our unit texts must be in
> TAKS
> format.  as we go over the test I teach test strategies.  Also as we read
> the novels, I bring in poetry and nonfiction as it applies to the subject.
>
> 2.  See Number 1.  (we also have an advisory class where the students
> learn
> test taking strategies and have TAKS practice packets.)
>
> 3.  sure, if you want.  try it.  if it doesn't work, don't do it
> again.  or
> modify it to make it work for you.  trial and error.  Balance, young
> grasshopper.
>
> 4.  I teach mainly using novels as my text and bring in other sources to
> suppliment what we are reading.  Yes to the other question.
>
> 5.  PLEASE teach your kiddos how to read a science text.  Teach them how
> it
> is organized, what the bold faced words mean, what the headings mean,
> captions, how to read a chart, etc.  they REALLY need that help.  FYI- our
> science text is for 8th graders, but it is on a 12.5 grade level reading
> level...some places were recorded at 17+!  The textbooks, especially
> science, is WAY over their heads.  They need lots of help with that.
>
> Hope I was able to help you.  Take a deep breath.  You will do a great job
> next year.  What district are you in?  I am in Lewisville ISD, but was in
> Harlandale (in San Antonio) for 2.5 years.  Can't wait to go back to SA.
>
> Let me know i can help you any more.
> Ashli
>
>
>


-- 
Maggie Dillier

"If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and
don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the
endless immensity of the sea." (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)