Something New Every Year

Each summer, around the 4th of July, I begin thinking about my coming school year. So, right now, I am well into my planning mode. I never want to fall into the bad habit of doing what I’ve done before, simply because that’s what I have done before. I like to make changes to my plans each year. I like to re-arrange, add, change, omit, and otherwise shake things up. This keeps me on my toes and allows what I do to feel fresh and new each year. Of course, I do keep things that were wildly successful. But even these may get a light make-over just to keep things new. If I ever stop doing this, it is time for me to retire.

In putting together my ideas for what I will use in my teaching, I always begin with a few non-negotiables. Our district adopted a writing curriculum a few years ago. This is one non-negotiable. In this writing program are suggested mentor texts. I know that in seventh grade, we will continue to use one of these texts. I also like to end the school year with a unit of study that has a culminating feel to it and also coordinates with another content area. In seventh grade, this unit deals with true accounts of African slaves in the Unites States. In eighth grade, this culminating unit is a study of Holocaust literature.

Looking at the non-negotiables and planning with the culminating unit in mind, I am able to identify a theme for the year. This theme keeps me grounded in my literature choices. It often informs the writing topics I encourage. Everything should make sense. There should be a thread that our work follows. At the end of the school year, what we have read, written, and studied should have meaning. This plan has worked for me for at least 18 years. I believe it will continue to work for me this coming year.