Teamwork and Making Adjustments

 Teaching can be isolating at times. You feel the weight of trying to meet the needs of your students, keep up with the curriculum, and you want to do it all for everyone. I've been teaching for a long time and I have found that I can be the most effective when I work with others. This school year is the first time that I have been alone in the classroom for most of the day. My entire career, I have worked with another teacher for either the entire day in a co-teaching model or for portions of the day. It is a different experience for me.

As I look at the needs of my students and try to meet them all, it can be overwhelming. I've struggled to find ways to work smarter, not harder. There is only so much time in the day and so much of me to go around. As the fall has progressed, I've made some adjustments to better meet the needs of my students. One is I started up a Math Workshop model beginning in November. We do a Math Talk daily, a mini-lesson, and then we break out into groups. One group starts with me and another group does independent work. Groups rotate to a fluency station after independent work is done. I work with the other group after the first. This model gives me an opportunity to work with small groups and gives my students independent time. It allows me to differentiate and support students where they are. It has been working really well. I just would love more TIME for each station. Time is such a hot commodity each day for sure. 

Today, another teacher on my team, our AIS provider and I are starting something new to help support our students in writing. We are going to switch kids from both of our classes to form writing groups. We formed 3 groups and are going to work with them as we start our narrative writing unit. Each group will be learning the same skills, but with varying levels of support and with a different number of students in each group. I'm excited to see how this goes and believe as we adjust and grow, we can better support all of the students. 

Teaching really is about making adjustments and learning alongside our students. We can do this most effectively as we work with others. It sounds so cliche, but being a lifelong learner is a huge part of being an effective teacher. It makes it so exciting as well.