While of course you can change anything at any time, a new school year for me means a fresh opportunity to try something different! My brain starts exploring new ideas and making lists for the future sometime around May, but it’s always August when those ideas are reviewed and finalized (or ditched). In this post, I’m sharing a few of the changes I’m making in my classroom as I get ready to kick off another school year.
Physical Space Updates
I knew by the end of last year that I wanted more open space and better visibility, especially of the comfy corners and class library. Before the year even ended, I moved my desk to the front of the room and my bookshelves to the adjacent corner, creating a cozy library area I can see from both my desk and the board.
The biggest change, though, is what I removed. With those annoying hexagon tables, even my decent-sized room felt crowded. Since (I was told) switching to desks wasn’t going to be an option, I got rid of the extra furniture instead — bookshelves, book carts, tables. It turns out, I had a lot of extra stuff I really didn’t need! (When I first moved in, I was hesitant to part with anything — you don’t know what you’ll need! But after three years in 5th grade, it was time to simplify.)
So I sorted my library down to single copies and in-demand reads and consolidated these onto a few smaller shelves. Moving my desk to the front eliminated the need for a separate teacher table near the board (for my computer when hooked to the projector). And I pulled an extra table next to my desk to make an L-shape with a cube organizer on top, which let me ditch the book cart that was blocking the window. I also consolidated my files and passed on a filing cabinet.
All that furniture, gone!! And I’m so happy with the openness. (Now I just have to resist adding things back in!)
A New Morning Routine
I firmly believe students need something to do the second they walk in. No one likes to sit and wait, and nothing good comes from that downtime. But our schedule makes it hard. Students trickle in starting at 9:15, the bell rings at 9:25, and some kids are still finishing breakfast or arriving on late buses. On 3 out of every 6 days, my students have Specials at 9:30. With this schedule, on any given day, half the class has been here 15 minutes and the other half is walking in as we’re walking out.
So the question I’ve been grappling with for years is — how do you assign or collect anything with that kind of disparity? And if I’m not checking it, why would students bother? I’ve tried daily packets, morning journaling, cursive practice, a daily question, and slow-start STEM bins over the years. Of all the options, STEM bins came closest to working (and I still plan to use them!), but some days a student would get a bin out and be told to put it away two minutes later… and I don’t like to start the year with that loose of a structure of every day. That’s something we integrate more frequently as we have nailed down our routines and expectations.
So this year: independent reading. Not revolutionary, I know. But it’s exactly how we started the day when I taught middle school, and it worked beautifully, so I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. The catalyst was a series of team conversations last year about how students just don’t read for fun anymore. No novels, no long books. Everything is paragraphs and short passages — he kind of text that lives in canned curriculum and standardized tests. And we know, those passages don’t build stamina or a love of reading.
Here’s the plan: a book tasting early on so students choose something they actually want to read. (Over the year I’ll add genre requirements to stretch them.) Books live in their cubbies so they’re always available. Students unpack, grab their book, and get reading. We’ll also use independent reading during our “tier time.” I’ve heard the pushback — “kids aren’t going to read, yadda yadda” — but it worked before and I’m hopeful. Our kids need to be reading more, for fun, and I want to give them the time to do it.
Social Studies & Science Podcasts
I’m SUPER excited about this one. My own kids love podcasts and audiobooks, and this summer we found a new collection of shows by Kidopoly. My boys are both hooked on “History’s Not Boring” in particular. The episodes are short and engaging, and there’s a “check yourself” quiz at the end. Since I’m working to expand my students’ background content knowledge (I talked about the background knowledge gap in this episode), I plan to sprinkle podcasts like this into our weekly schedule.
Here are a few of our other favorite podcasts I plan to integrate:
Authentically Integrating Math and ELA Into Science
I’ve spent the summer finalizing units in my 5th grade, NGSS-aligned science curriculum, and one goal has been integrating math and ELA authentically. By that I mean not a math worksheet dropped into science class, but math and ELA that feel integral to the science lesson itself.
Five years ago I would have pushed back on this. Science gets short-changed in elementary school, and “giving up” science time for math and ELA would have felt heretical. Now that I’ve lived the elementary schedule, I truly get it. There is not enough time.
More than that, math and ELA skills are what make science accessible. The student who can’t read the passage can’t answer the question. The kid who doesn’t know what to do with a graph won’t get it right. Take the state test out of it entirely and those are still real skills scientists need. Building them in my science class makes my students better scientists.
I’m curious to see what a truly multidisciplinary science block does for their learning this year.
What Are You Changing Up This Year?
I’m curious what’s on your list this year — especially if you’ve cracked the morning work problem on a schedule like mine!! And if you want to see what the math and ELA integration actually looks like in a lesson, my first 5th grade NGSS unit is up in my TpT store (with more coming this fall).
