hey everybody,

i had a really good first week. exhausting but exciting. my kids seem to like and are responding to WBT. i am now however getting a little (a lot) overwhelmed with trying to plan my lessons. we have curriculum books for each subject, with all these practice worksheets etc that we r supposed to follow. there is just sooooo much in there to do and not enough time. on top of that i really want to make all my lessons follow WBT but finding that difficult to pick out power pix and such. i guess iam wondering what others are doing in regards to planning? i know things will come together and everyone says the first year teaching is hard but any advice would be great i'll start with breathing.

I discovered WBT last spring. I only implemented the routines, procedures and behaviour elements. This will be my first time adding the instruction piece.

I start on Tuesday but here is what I'm thinking...

As I teach from the core I will be on the look out for vocabulary that fits with power pix. I will teach the students the word and gestures as they come up. Plus, if there are concepts that a power pic is not made for, make your own.

I'm concerned about getting in prove it and the writing game and super speed because we do have so much of our day laid out for us. But I'm going to try to work it in here and there throughout the day.

Good luck. Keep us updated.

I made myself a checklist so that I can date it and check off what I was able to do in a day. Time is always a problem. I am fortunate though because I am not forced to follow a curriculum with all of the worksheets. My principle believes that if I can teach thing without just using worksheets,then that is better. Some people just use worksheet because they are their. My focus is on oral writing and comprehension. I only teach LA and math, but I have two grade levels of children with various learning levels and abilities. They are in/out with general classrooms, specials, OT, Speech and music lessons. I also have a different lunch than my 3rd graders. By making this check list, I can quickly see at a glance what areas I have missed during my week so that I can make an effort to make more time for that the next week. If you are new, take it slow. Start with the basic 7. Once you have that down, then work on strenghthening your 5 step lesson plan. Good luck and keep us posted. I hope this helps.

It sounds like you guys are on the track. The main thing to keep in mind as well is to segment your lessons into five to ten minutes or do on one activity, then switch to something else to keep them from losing their focus on your lesson.