Schedules!  Why is it that teachers like to hear about how other teachers organize their days?  I always love to hear and see what fellow teachers do throughout the day!  As a departmentalized teacher in upper elementary, my schedule is rather CRAZY but I love it!

Morning Meeting
After announcements, we meet at the carpet to hold our morning meeting.  I think many people thought that I was crazy planning to have fifth graders sit on the carpet each morning.  But we LOVE it.  I can definitely tell mornings that begin with a morning meeting and those that do not.  This just seem to flow better for us when we meet together.  <3  During this meeting, we do MANY things!

First, we begin by completing our Math Warm Up.  Prior to announcements in the morning, my kids complete their Math Warm Up on the board.  As we kick off our morning meeting, we share, explain, and check the responses that the kids have left on the board.  This is a great way to get the kids in gear for the upcoming math lesson as well as engage in mathematical discussion.

Next, we complete our Picture of the Day.  I am absolutely in love with this product and have truly witnessed so much growth in my students this year.  Each day, a new picture is displayed on the screen.  We take turns sharing observations about the picture.  They are strictly observable facts that we see from the picture.  Next, I have one student make an inference about what they believe is happening in the picture.  The remaining students support (or go against in some cases) the inference that their fellow classmate has made.

Last, we complete our Vocabulary Voyage for the day!  This is another product that I can’t image teaching without.  Each day for five days, I introduce a word to my students.  The words included are testing vocabulary words, such as define, describe, and attitude.  One word and definition is given to the students each day.  We take time to discuss what they think the word means and what the actual definition of the word is, as well as types of questions where we might see that particular word used.  The following week, the students complete quick tasks to apply each of the five words from the previous week using their reading story or AR book.

Math Block {Mrs. Wilp’s Class}
One thing that I love about being departmentalized, is that I can constantly work to better my craft because I am only trying to hone skills in one major area.  Otherwise, we often feel like jugglers.  When one area is UP, then another area is DOWN!

During this time, I hold our daily math block with my homeroom.  I begin each math block by checking my students notes from their math video and give them an Exit Ticket to check for understanding.

Together, we check their Exit Ticket and I work to address any class wide misconceptions that I notice or provide additional examples.  As I collect their Exit Tickets, the kids get out their bubble pages and begin working on math centers throughout the room.  As they work independently, I pull small groups using the quick data that I just collected from their Exit Tickets.  The majority of my time during my math block is dedicated to small groups and addressing the immediate learning needs of my students.

Math {Ms. Murphy’s Class}
Next, my kids pack up their reading materials and head next door to my fellow fifth grade teacher’s room.  While my kiddos are busy with reading, I get to repeat the same math block with the rest of the fifth grade!

Specials
I’ll be honest.  My specials are not at the same time every day and it drives me bonkers!  It also interferes with our switching a lot.  There are several times throughout the week that I have a longer block with my class than Ms. Murphy’s or vice versa.


Social Studies/Science {Ms. Murphy’s Class}
After recess and a quick bathroom break, my class heads to see Ms. Murphy for writing and I steal her kids for a bit to work on science or social studies.  I typically rotate between one unit of science then one unit of social studies.  I’ll be honest, haven’t followed this perfectly for the last few weeks.  Since fifth grade is only tested on social studies for statewide testing, I am scrambling to fit in all of my standards before testing and then plan to have fun with science after the stress of the test is OVER!

Social Studies/Science {Mrs. Wilp’s Class}
After a quick switch, I repeat the science or social studies lesson with my kids.