The Break is Here

Today is my first official day of the break. Last night I watched my daughter and my students perform in their winter holiday performance. The set-up has evolved since I started a year ago, but I loved the format last night. One class danced on stage while two other classes were on the side stage risers singing the song. It is always fun to see the creativity of the dance teacher blended with student input on the choreography. There is always a mixture of traditional Mexican dances (the predominant culture of the families in our dual immersion school), with a wide variety of other styles. It was an excellent way to celebrate before going to break.

When we return we will have two weeks, and then second quarter will be over. With my students we will be having one week in English, followed by a week in Spanish. We will be wrapping up our unit on Medieval Europe before moving into one on The Rise of Islam. It is also time for the first round of state testing in reading, starting a little bit later than we did last year. In writing we will also be gearing up for the 7th grade state writing assessment and 6th grade writing work sample that will take place in Februrary. At the start of third quarter I will be moving into incorporating some student blogging and podcasting. There will be a lot going on upon arrival.

Over the break I will be dedicating some of my time to working in my classroom. I want to spend a day on each content: reading, writing, and social studies. I will start the day with an agenda to focus my planning and to make sure that I use my time productively. It will mainly be to organize myself and to set the framework for 2nd half of the year planning. Though I started the year with an annual plan, it is time to revisit it now that I have worked out many kinks, made adjustments, and learned from what has worked and what needs improvement.

Many pieces are starting to click together, and I am looking forward to spending part of my break getting organized for a successful rest of the year, while spending the other part of the time focusing on family.