Transcript

This is my daily schedule and one of the things I've learned as a first and second grade teacher, really a teacher of any age, is the more information I give to students up front the more independent they'll be able to be. So, as the year has progressed I've built a schedule for them to follow, so that when they walk in in the morning, and often before the students leave the night before, I will have set up the schedule for the next day, so that they're able to predict and understand how the day is going to flow. And I've built the schedule from a teacher's perspective to flow from whole group activities where I'm leading a lesson that's usually short and snappy, that's a small part of my day but it happens throughout the day, to longer times where students are working, usually cooperatively and sometimes independently to practice and consolidate the skills. 

So as a teacher when I've put together my schedule, I really think about the gradual release of reasonability, and I think about student pacing, what they can handle at this age, how much time I can have them on the carpet, how much time they're going to need to go away and do something, be engaged with a group, be alone to practice something. I think about all those things when I build my schedule so that each day is balanced and usually that reflects different aspects of the gradual release of responsibility. My whole class lesson is when I'm modelling something for the students or sharing something with them, when they're working in small groups that's independent or shared practice, and when they're working individually that's independent application. And then I squeeze in there throughout the day my times when I'm working with them in a guided situation where I'm sitting there facilitating a group and guiding them as they practice a skill or a concept that they're not so sure about.