My New Classroom Assignment and Scheduling

I am getting my new classroom!

It's very exciting until they assign me one classroom, I choose which bulletin boards to stay, what to add, figure out what should my classroom look like, and then I get reassigned to a different room. This happened twice. I was put in 3 rooms! The third room is now final (I hope). I will be in the 3rd/4th grade hallway with the other 3rd/4th grade teachers! I am very excited.

Recently, I've been figuring out my schedule. It's rather confusing.

I'll try to explain.

The green means the courses will be in English. I am planning to color any classes held in TL be in Yellow. The reason why I haven't color yellow is because I still have to see what the 3rd/4th team decides on; our schedule should match because we have Math, MAC and LAC together. MAC = Math ACceleration; LAC = Literacy ACceleration. As I wrote down Math in pen and colored it green, that class is already set. Now it is MAC and LAC where we have to decide where we want them.

As for literacy, I have two one-hour blocks. One for English, one for Chinese. I've talked to the CI team support (she's wonderful!!!) and she suggested I do:

• Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
• 20 min. Shared Reading
• 40 min. Guided Reading
• Tuesday and Thursday
• 20 min. Shared Reading
• 10 min. I do/We do Model
• 30 min. Writing

I also might do that for English too.

On the schedule, I still need to put social studies (taught in Mandarin Chinese) and science (taught in English) on it. I would like to pair s.s. with Chinese literacy and sci. with English literacy. Ugh, we'll see how successful I am with that and if I'm not, I might have to talk to our support again or the principal.

????? What I am a little iffy about is if I will have any common planning time with the 3rd/4th team. Plan time is during specials (art, music, PE, and LRC). I wonder if I have any of the same time with any teachers. Need to ask that this Tuesday.

?????? I really would like half of my day to be in English and another half to be in TL. It doesn't seem to be possible at all. I could have chunks during the day but that is least ideal. I need to bring this up to the principal.

看图识字 // 识字图卡

Found a pretty cool website for the kiddos I think. Not sure how much of it pertains to the curriculum I'll be using, but it's worth a shot to find something fun.

One thing I am a little iffy about... the ads on here might not be age appropriate. How are the founders of this trying to sell their products if kids can't even go on to view kids things?

I need to find a way to find something on this website and maybe find it on YouTube or something.

http://www.tom61.com/FLASHzhiyuang/kantushizi/

The Struggles of a Bilingual Program (Dual and One-Way)

http://www.theyoungmommylife.com/2013/12/27/support-daughters-bilingual-education/

The article above did not catch me by surprise. In fact, I would like to use this article to talk about how common this may feel for many parents. Being in a bilingual classroom has many challenges everyone will face, including the students, parents, as well as teachers. It's as easy as 1-2-3 to be bilingual. Hard work and time commitment are necessary by all parties.

In the article, the mom was told to have her daughter have playdates and to request a tutor for her to be more successful in Spanish. Luckily, she is in a dual immersion program. In order for a program to be a "dual immersion program" the population of the students should be 50% native English speakers and 50% target language speakers. If the mom feels frustrated because she is not giving enough support in Spanish, chances are, there might be parents who feel the same but for English. Who knows? Parents can work together to find a time where the kids can interact with each parent at different times (but equal amount of times) to practice each language.

As for an one-way immersion program (population is not 50/50, but anyone can attend), the only time the target language is used, is mainly in school. It uses a slightly different approach where parents might still feel the same way, unfortunately. Because all students start learning the target language from the same point and all the support is coming from the school, there isn't much support outside of the classroom. This is something I am struggling with as the students might not use target language when having playdates.

Assessments

Have been thinking about assessments lately. For next year, my 3rd graders need to be leveled based on their four domains (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).

There are several assessments I have in mind:

• STAMP
• HSK
• ACTFL
• SOPA (?)
• TOCFL

Games for Chinese Learning

Games to keep in mind to teach my kids! This can improve their speaking and listening:

• Taboo
• Pictionary
• Telephone
• MadGab

This can improve their writing:

• Boggle

Extra :: This girl is going to Taiwan this summer :)! Will be seeing if there are any games over there I can get for the kiddos~

Mandarin Guided Reading

Oh. My. Gosh.

http://www.fcrr.org/for-educators/sca.asp

Check it out! It was recommended by Dr. Cheryl Wolfel from Palatine School District who is a director for their bilingual program. I can totally use this for guided reading in Mandarin! I can check if I can start implementing some of the Chinese structure words into how they have it for English words.

We'll see.

It's on the to do list.

General Questions

This post has been in the draft for awhile...

1. Do parents have specific roles for parties?
2. What can parents do for volunteering?
3. What can students do during indoor recess?
1. I found this... but not sure if I like all of them. 85% of them are just videos you dance do.
4. Students picking out independent reading book but don't know where to put it back?
1. Leave it in a basket for the teachers to put back according to lexile or fountas and pinnel.
5. Everytime I bring in supplies for all the kids, I gotta bring in 45 of them if I teach two grade levels. This is not a question, this is just a challenge.
6. Do 3rd graders know twitter, facebook, hashtags? If they do, I might be able to incorporate this in some lessons!

Treasure Chest

I just need a chest where I can put all my extrinsic awards in there if I need it in the fly. What can I have?

1. Star stickers
2. Smiley stickers
3. Pencils
4. Erasers
5. Small Dollar-store toys?
6. Homework pass

I'm wondering if I should add more or if I want to just add an abundance of the things...

Chinese Upbeat Music Playlist

This probably should be on excel.... Or just download onto my playlist?

1. 我相信 - 杨培安
2. 我的骄傲 - 杨培安
3. 同一片天空 - 新兵日记
4. 稻香 - 周杰伦
5. 童年 - 罗大佑
6. 明天会更好
7. 早餐，晨之美 - 卢广仲
8. 别在我睡着的时候打给我 - 卢广仲
9. Que Te Pasa - 卢广仲
10. 像白痴一样 - 卢广仲
11. 干杯 - 五月天
12. OAOA - 五月天
13. 玩乐 - 方大同
14. 因你而在 - 林俊杰
15. 阳光宅男 - 周杰伦
16. 恋爱ING - 五月天
17. 牛仔很忙 - 周杰伦
18. 水手怕水 - 周杰伦
19. 公主病 - 周杰伦
20. 自以为 - 方大同&许佳莹
21. 不要不要 - 张文宣
22. 幸福氧气 - 张文宣
23. 关在家 - 关诗敏
24. 快递甜心 - 关诗敏
25. 大艺术家 - 蔡依林
26. 舞娘 - 蔡依林
27. Mr. Q - 蔡依林
28. 特务 - 蔡依林
29. 唯舞独尊 - 蔡依林
30. 马德里不思议 - 蔡依林
31. 笑忘歌 - 五月天
32. 玩美 - 蔡依林
33. 死定了- 自由发挥
34. 欢迎光临 - 自由发挥
35. 夜猫 - 丁当
36. 唇唇欲动 - 蔡依林
37. 傷心的人別聽慢歌 - 五月天
38. 藍色巧克力 - 謝娜
39. 快乐的歌 - 謝娜
40. 最炫民族风 - 凤凰传奇
41. 快樂的歌 - 楊培安
42. Dr. Jolin - 蔡依林
43. 最新超動感舞曲 - By2 DNA 

Classroom Materials List (will be updated)

1. (40) File Folder/Plastic/Milk Crates http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-File-Crate-Set-of-6/14138976 maybe not getting milk crates anymore!
2. (10) 1' Binders
3. (10) 2' Binders
4. Fabric (for bulletin boards)
5. (10) Small Stacking Baskets http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-small-stacking-basket-pack-of-6/-/A-12981146#prodSlot=medium_1_29
6. (12) Drawers (individual that can stack on top of each other) http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-Medium-Modular-Storage-Drawers-Set-of-6-White/15940599
7. (3) Mini-3-drawers http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-3-Drawer-Mini-Organizer-Set-of-6/10877957 have 1 at home. Need 2 more.
8. (20) Fabric Container Organizer http://www.target.com/p/closetmaid-cubeicals-fabric-drawers-1-pack/-/A-14469040#prodSlot=medium_1_12 have 3.
9. (1) Bean Chair
10. (1) Papasan Foldable Chair CHECK
11. (1) Floor Lamp
12. (1) Rug ~4x6
13. (6) individual paper lanterns http://www.orientaltrading.com/bright-party-lanterns-a2-3_8941.fltr?prodCatId=551273
14. (6 boxes) Hanging File Folders
15. (50) Magazine holders http://www.amazon.com/Flyt-Pack-White-Magazine-Holder/dp/B001PH3HJ8/ref=lp_3744811_1_2?s=furniture&ie=UTF8&qid=1382852577&sr=1-2
    CHEAPER HERE: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50022354/
16. (30) Backup Activities for moments where students are just sitting/standing there and not doing anything on off days (holidays, days before break, etc.)
17. (30) Wall Pocket Postits http://www.amazon.com/Post-Pockets-Closure-8-Inches-3-Pack/dp/B005DKN6OO/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_cp_2_T4CY?ie=UTF8&refRID=16CD9ZWNB2DJNYE7PH9N
18. (1) Pocket Chart Organizer http://www.amazon.com/Smethport-747-Organization-Center-Pocket/dp/B001JTQDGQ/ref=pd_sim_op_2
19. (30) pencils school offers pencils
20. (5) small caddy (Target: $1 each) http://www.amazon.com/Romanoff-Small-Utility-Caddy-Red/dp/B000HKHLEQ but mine are 3" x 4"
21. (5) letter (Target: $1 each) tray http://i.walmartimages.com/i/mp/00/79/48/09/04/0079480904348_P255062_500X500.jpg but mines are different colors and made from cardboard
22. (24) pencil basket (Target: 6 for $3) I bought blue and black
23. (6) pocket chart with 8 pockets each (Target: $1 each)
24. (3) Storage Bin (Target: $1 each) I bought black ones; self-making cardboard boxes (kinda like shoe boxes)
25. (3) Teacher's Tote (Target: $3 each) http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-8nobnycL._SL500_AA300_.jpg except mine doesn't have the front pockets
26. (20) Folders (Office Depot/Max: $2 total) no prongs
27. mini prices, birthday signs, table name tags (Target and Office Depot/Max: ~$5)

07/16/14 Edit

Total amount spent: ~$65

Books, Wishlist, and HR Questions. A post I will have to get back to...

This site has a lot of the books I might be able to read to my students next year. My school has already ordered some of the books, but I'm wondering if I can order more. This is a great resource to have. Here's the link!

I'm starting to collect a wishlist of books on Amazon. Need to put them in Lexile order soon on excel so I can easily put them in my classroom library by levels for my students to easily pick them out during independent reading or something. So far so good. I might it on Google Doc soon.
DONE! Google Doc Text Set

I am waiting for the school district's HR to contact me to sign the contract. If I have any questions, I can ask then. Questions to ask during contract time:

1. What things will I already have for classroom?
2. How do I purchase classroom supplies?
3. Do I have to pack at the end of the year?
4. When to see classroom? Can I pick my own?
5. When can I start setting up classroom?
6. Am I allowed to use educational social media such as edmodo?
7. If I order Chinese books online, do I pay for that on my own?
8. Do I have to get a Masters to stay in the district?
9. Would Masters be paid for?

Christmas wishlist: a lot of gift cards. A lot.