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.

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.

Questioning Parent Volunteer

First post of the year!! Happy New Year Yayayayay :)
Alright, 'nuff celebrating. Back to work heh heh

As a child growing up in the US public school system, it was common for parents to come into the school during the school day (especially during holiday parties) to volunteer and help around the classrooms. I have seen parents set up classrooms, lead activities, bring in prizes, bring in food... etc. All in all, I have seen parents just take over the classroom for the time being.

What I am not so sure about is how this comes about. Do parents email each other and just plan who does what prior to the party and who does what during the party? What do teachers do during planning? What about during the party?

The following links provide some tips:

1. Communication (clear and in every way possible)
2. Many opportunities... many
3. Appreciate them. If necessary, LIKE CRAZY!!
4. Have schedules ready
1. For busy parents, be flexible
5. BE ENTHUSIASTIC!! YEAH!

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/strategies-for-engaging-parent-volunteers-karen-bantuveris

http://www.dominicanu.com/masters-in-education-resources/get-parents-involved/

P.S. It says parents can also help with websites... Need to ask if that's possible in my district.

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!

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.