I TOTALLY agree with Brad!! If you only do part of it, it's like you are trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle without all of the pieces! I think you will see, as you start to plan all 4 blocks, that they really intertwine. What you teach in one block connects with what you are teaching in all the other blocks. It may seem overwhelming at first, but once you have thought through plans for a full week or two, it will really start to come together and it will really make sense!! I think it is eaier to plan for it ALL than to try to plan in isolation!!
Also, the Month-by-Month books are extremely helpful, especially when you are just starting out! They will give you a really good idea of how it all fits together and how the blocks play off each other!!
I suggest doing lots of Three Ring Circus and Book Clubs during Guided Reading. Otherwise, there shouldn't be an issue with the other three blocks. SSR and Writing are naturally multi-level (READ: Differentiated), and you can build your word wall from student needs and the activities should be multi-level as well.
If you see the book "True Stories from Four Blocks Classrooms," there are several contributors from multi-age classrooms in there.
Stephanie, We subscribe to the National Geographic for Kids and just love it!! I teach 2nd but have a few students who can benefit from the higher level. Our principal ordered the magazine for the entire school so what I do is switch with other teachers at different grade levels. They take some of my lower books and give me some of their higher ones. National Geographic also sells leveled books which you can get as individual or as text sets. We ordered a huge amount of text sets and put them in the library for teachers to check out. These support our goals of strengthening the kids' reading of expository text. They are very high quality.
I am going to do four blocks this year the best I can, but there is no way I can do everything every day. Our admin knows this, and feels ok about it. I know the die hards will say this is not four blocks, but I would like some good feedback from those who know. I have "dabbled" for a couple years and want to really do it well this year. At least as well as I can.
I will have SSR every day. I will have writing, working with words and guided reading 2-3 days a week. I will say, I have a TA in the room most of the day, and only 14 kids, so when we do "centers" it's really the kids working in small groups with us, at least during the working with words block.
On 7/14/08, Steph/4/TX wrote: > I agree that 20-25 min is too short for either writing or word > work. I also think that when you run into scheduling/time > issues, you have to look very carefully at each thing you are > devoting time to during your day and ask yourself, "Why am I > doing this?" You sometimes have to be willing to let go of some > things in order to fill your time with more meaningful literacy > experiences. Also, with the multilevel design of 4 blocks, you > should be able to accomplish the same goals with a multi-age > group that you would with a traditional class in about the same > amount of time!! > > Looking at what you have, it seems that your available time for > literacy is from 9:50 until 10:45, and 12:50 until 2:35. That's > about 2 hrs and 45 min. That's plenty of time to all 4 blocks > every day if you do 30 min blocks. If you want 45 min blocks, > you could accomplish this by freeing up 15 min somewhere (maybe > sentence of the day). That being said, here is my best stab at a > schedule with what you have: > > 9:50-10:35 Writing > 10:35-10:45 Word Wall (1st part of WWW block) > 12:50-1:15 Finish WWW > 1:15-1:45 SSR > 1:45-2:35 GR > > It's not ideal to split up a block, but the way your blocks of > time fall, that may be the only way to do it. > > Here's one more suggestion: > > 8:45-9:10 Math > 9:10-9:30 Morning Meeting > 9:30-10:10 GR > 10:10-10:45 SSR > 12:50-1:30 WWW > 1:30-2:10 Writing > 2:10-2:35 Time for end of the day routines or your sentence of > the day or whatever else you need to squeeze in. > > I don't know if those will help you or not, but I hope they do!! > Good luck!! > > Stephanie :) > >>
I redid my schedule with your advice. I actually managed to get in all four blocks every day!! Whoo-hoo! I think I was stuck in this thought that each block needed to be an hour or something, even though I know 4B says 30-40 minutes I used to work someplace that wanted 60 min. blocks... anyway, I have 40 minutes for writing, 30 for SSR and only 25 minutes for guided reading and word work.... BUT I am hoping this is ok. I only have 16 kids (I got 2 more but this is the cap) and during those times I have a VERY qualified TA in the room so they will get lots of attention with an 8:1 ratio. Do you think this looks ok??
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Thank you thank you thank you for your response. And Deb, the school gave me my copy of writing mini-lessons for second grade. I read it cover to cover!
On 7/13/08, Jessica wrote: > I would love you all to look at my schedule. > > I am going to do four blocks this year the best I can, but > there is no way I can do everything every day. Our admin > knows this, and feels ok about it. I know the die hards > will say this is not four blocks, but I would like some > good feedback from those who know. I have "dabbled" for a > couple years and want to really do it well this year. At > least as well as I can. > > I will have SSR every day. I will have writing, working > with words and guided reading 2-3 days a week. I will say, > I have a TA in the room [link removed]
8:30-8:45 Bellwork/Morning Message 8:45-9:50:small group reading with centers for word work and SSR 9:50-10:20 Word Wall (also word work/Making Meaning Program (read alouds w/ comprehension 10:20-11:00Writing Block 11:00-11:10 Bathroom Break and Read Aloud 11:10-11:55 Recess and lunch 12:00-12:30 Special (Art gym music etc.) 12:30-1:00 Social STudies/Science (SS first half of yr and science second half of yr 1:00-2:30 Calendar Math and Math Block
This way I get all of the 4 blocks in.. tell me what u think.. is it okay to do word work in centers and ssr as a center? I will of course not start centers right away in the year and only after the kids are fmiliar with the routines.
How about this: 8:30-8:45 Bellwork/Morning Message 8:45-10:15 Math block 10:15-11:00 writing block 11:00-12:30 BR break, lunch, recess, specials 12:30-1:05 Guided Reading (ala 4 blocks, not leveled groups) 1:05-1:40 SSR block 1:40-2:05 WWW block 2:05-2:30 Science/SS
If you have to have 90 min for math and 45 min for writing, you don't have enough time in the day to have your other 3 blocks any longer than 25 min each. If you bring your science/SS texts into your guided reading block (this is what I do) then you can kill 2 birds with one stone and free up the 25 min set aside for those areas. Of course, on some days you would still need that time for hands-on stuff, but not everyday. I'm not sure what grade you teach, but I think this is how I would do it.
HTH! Steph :)
On 7/14/08, mel wrote: > I posted somethin before but maybe you can help with my > schedule. I have to get in word work,writing(has to be > for 45mins),ssr,guided reading,(i have a 90 min block,math > (has to be for 90 mins) Let me know what u think. > > 8:30-8:45 Bellwork/Morning Message > 8:45-9:50:small group reading with centers for word work > and SSR > 9:50-10:20 Word Wall (also word work/Making Meaning > Program (read alouds w/ comprehension > 10:20-11:00Writing Block > 11:00-11:10 Bathroom Break and Read Aloud > 11:10-11:55 Recess and lunch > 12:00-12:30 Special (Art gym music etc.) > 12:30-1:00 Social STudies/Science (SS first half of yr and > science second half of yr > 1:00-2:30 Calendar Math and Math Block > > This way I get all of the 4 blocks in.. tell me what u > think.. is it okay to do word work in centers and ssr as a > center? I will of course not start centers right away in > the year and only after the kids are fmiliar with the > routines.
On 7/14/08, too ashamed to say wrote: > Okay...I have been involved with a reading initiative for > several years, but the one thing I have a hard time with > is knowing how to get literacy groups started and how to > choose the books I am going to use to teach literacy > groups on a day to day basis. I really want to be > clarified and in the know about this before school starts > so I can do a much better job with this and stick to it > instead of meandering around and not wanting to do them > because I am not prepared and don't know where to start. > Please help. >
Our school has a rotary system for 6-8th grades, and some rotary (to a lesser extent) for 4-5. Our day is split into 50-minute blocks with a bell ringing in between each block. When all is said and done, I have four 50-minute blocks every day with my homeroom to teach math, science, social studies and language arts. It would be easiest (for me and for my students) to plan in 50 minute blocks. I plan on alternating science and social studies units.
Would this make sense?
- writing block 4 times a week - SSR/reading workshop block 4 times a week - science/social studies block 5 times a week (include GR here 3 times a week, save the last 2 blocks for experiments/simulations/hands-on activities) - math block 5 times a week - working with words and class meeting (split the block in half) 2 times a week
Does this sound like it would make sense? Am I focusing too much on some things, and not enough on others?
Also, I have a question about interactive student notebooks. I'd really like to try them in science/social studies this year. I'm just not sure how to fit them in, since they require a lot of processing/responding as opposed to just reading. Would a 50 minute guided reading/content block make sense if it were divided like this:
10 minutes whole group - introduce topic, teach vocabulary, set purpose for reading, etc 20 minutes reading - textbook, book clubs, 3-ring circus 15 minutes responding in ISN (to be completed as homework if necessary) 5 minutes sharing
I'm just not sure if I'm trying to do too much by using Big Blocks AND ISNs. I just don't have enough time in the day, especially when I compare my schedule to those that I see in professional books!
Is it realistic to plan on teaching most guided reading using science and social studies text? (By text, I mean tradebooks, articles, textbooks...a variety of different sources of text) If I focus on fiction for the read-aloud component of my SSR block, and model/teach reading strategies for fiction at that time, will that be enough?
I'm also wondering if it's appropriate to have children participate in literature circles during the SSR block. I'm not talking about lit circles with different roles and worksheets, but just groups of kids choosing among a variety of different books and then meeting to discuss them. They could either read their lit circle books during SSR or at home. Would this dilute the SSR block? Or would it be a valuable addition to it? I can see arguments either way.
As far as literature circles, they are used in big blocks, but during GR, not SSR. There are also reading teams and book club groups which are slight variations of lit circles, also done during GR. So, yes it would be completely appropriate to do lit circles, but I would do them during GR.
On 7/16/08, SEL (the OP) with a few more questions wrote: > Oh, thank you for that! That's really helpful! I hadn't really > thought about breaking the 100-minute literacy block into 2 40-minute > reading/writing blocks and 20-minute word block. My only concern is > that I guess i'll probably be losing 10 minutes in the morning to > entry (coming in, changing shoes, unpacking backpack, etc). I don't > usually give morning work, because I want to start instruction within > 10 minutes, but with such a tight 40-40-20 schedule, I'm not sure I > could swing it. But 180 minutes each for writing, guided reading and > SSR is definitely doable. I would have 2 50-min blocks and 2 40-min > blocks of each. I'm thinking that the shorter 30-min sci/ss blocks > in the afternoon could be revisiting what we learned during GR and > responding in interactive student notebooks. > > Is it realistic to plan on teaching most guided reading using science > and social studies text? (By text, I mean tradebooks, articles, > textbooks...a variety of different sources of text) If I focus on > fiction for the read-aloud component of my SSR block, and model/teach > reading strategies for fiction at that time, will that be enough? > > I'm also wondering if it's appropriate to have children participate > in literature circles during the SSR block. I'm not talking about > lit circles with different roles and worksheets, but just groups of > kids choosing among a variety of different books and then meeting to > discuss them. They could either read their lit circle books during > SSR or at home. Would this dilute the SSR block? Or would it be a > valuable addition to it? I can see arguments either way.
8:15-8:30 Working...See MoreWe are starting the model this year. It looks very thorough and I am excited to get it going. Our adopted text is Scott Foresman, but understand this is not to dictate our curriculum. So, my question is where to you get the spelling, sight words, etc. for the Working with Words portion? Here's how I see implementing it...
8:15-8:30 Working with words (alternate sight words and spelling words daily)...should those come from the SF or is there a recommended list? 8:30-9:15 Guided Reading (again, is there a recommendation for these titles or can it be the readers that come with Scott Foresman?) Do I understand this to be about 15 minutes of large group instruction and then a rotation of various reading opportunities? Break 9:30-10-Self Selected Reading 10-10:45 - Writing (We were planning on using the Six Traits writing model).
After lunch is math (50 min.), recess, pull-outs (we will do centers during this time for more small group reading opportunities), followed by science/social studies for 50 min.
As far as the sight words go, there is a list for 1st grade in the Teacher's Guide to Four Blocks. From that, you can do them in any order. When I taught 1st I would find words on the list that were in our GR texts to reinforce those more at that time. You can also choose the spelling patterns you are going to focus on in the phonics/decoding lessons. When I taught 1st, I followed the sequence of the spelling lists in our reading series, but taught them the 4 blocks way!
For GR, the hardest part about what texts to use is finding materials you have class sets of. You can very easily use your reading series for this (or science books or SS books) and do your instruction with those stories using 4 blocks before, during, and after activities. Another great resource for inexpensive books is reading atoz.com. They have tons of leveled books that you can download and print as many of as you need. Their individual membership is like $80, but WELL worth it in my opinion! (Yes, I am a member!!)
The main focus of GR is teaching comprehension. You pretty much run the show during this time. You start with a before reading activity to get them ready for reading. You have some type of during reading format or activity for them. Then you do an after reading activity to tie it all together and help them process what they just did. The big thing with 4 blocks GR is that you DON'T do leveled small groups (like Fountas & Pinnell). There is small group work, but the groups are flexible and not based on ability.
If I were you, I would get The Teacher's Guide to the Four Blocks. It is easy to read, but VERY helpful when you are starting out with this model. There are also many other great books out there (I think I have them all!!) that you might check out after you've read the Teacher's Guide that go into a lot more detail about each block.
You might also check out the 4 blocks center here on teachers.net. There all kinds of things you can download and print. It is wonderful! There used to be a link to it on the home page, but I can't find it anymore. But, if you type "four blocks center" into the box to search teachers.net, you'll get a link to it. That's how I always get to it!
HTH! Steph :)
On 7/16/08, Kimberly wrote: > Ah, that would help...1st Grade! > > On 7/16/08, What grade do you teach? nfm wrote: >> On 7/16/08, Kimberly wrote: >>> We are starting the model this year. It looks very >>> thorough and I am excited to get it going. Our adopted >>> text is Scott Foresman, but understand this is not to >>> dictate our curriculum. So, my question is where to you >>> get the spelling, sight words, etc. for the Working with >>> Words portion? Here's how I see implementing it... >>> >>> 8:15-8:30 Working with words (alternate sight words and >>> spelling words daily)...should those come from the SF or >>> is there a recommended list? >>> 8:30-9:15 Guided Reading (again, is there a recommendation >>> for these titles or can it be the readers that come with >>> Scott Foresman?) Do I understand this to be about 15 >>> minutes of large group instruction and then a rotation of >>> various reading opportunities? >>> Break >>> 9:30-10-Self Selected Reading >>> 10-10:45 - Writing (We were planning on using the Six >>> Traits writing model). >>> >>> After lunch is math (50 min.), recess, pull-outs (we will >>> do centers during this time for more small group reading >>> opportunities), followed by science/social studies for 50 >>> min.
On 7/16/08, Steph/4/TX wrote: > It looks like you've got the basic jist (sp?) of it, except your WWW > block really should be a little longer. In 1st-3rd, that block > should consist of 10 min doing the word wall and 20 min doing a > phonics/decoding lesson/activity, for a total of 30 min. They > suggest 30-40 min for each of the other 3 blocks, so you could cut > down your GR and writing blocks a little and have 30 min for WWW. > > As far as the sight words go, there is a list for 1st grade in the > Teacher's Guide to Four Blocks. From that, you can do them in any > order. When I taught 1st I would find words on the list that were in > our GR texts to reinforce those more at that time. You can also > choose the spelling patterns you are going to focus on in the > phonics/decoding lessons. When I taught 1st, I followed the sequence > of the spelling lists in our reading series, but taught them the 4 > blocks way! > > For GR, the hardest part about what texts to use is finding > materials you have class sets of. You can very easily use your > reading series for this (or science books or SS books) and do your > instruction with those stories using 4 blocks before, during, and > after activities. Another great resource for inexpensive books is > reading atoz.com. They have tons of leveled books that you can > download and print as many of as you need. Their individual > membership is like $80, but WELL worth it in my opinion! (Yes, I am > a member!!) > > The main focus of GR is teaching comprehension. You pretty much run > the show during this time. You start with a before reading activity > to get them ready for reading. You have some type of during reading > format or activity for them. Then you do an after reading activity > to tie it all together and help them process what they just did. The > big thing with 4 blocks GR is that you DON'T do leveled small groups > (like Fountas & Pinnell). There is small group work, but the groups > are flexible and not based on ability. > > If I were you, I would get The Teacher's Guide to the Four Blocks. > It is easy to read, but VERY helpful when you are starting out with > this model. There are also many other great books out there (I think > I have them all!!) that you might check out after you've read the > Teacher's Guide that go into a lot more detail about each block. > > You might also check out the 4 blocks center here on teachers.net. > There all kinds of things you can download and print. It is > wonderful! There used to be a link to it on the home page, but I > can't find it anymore. But, if you type "four blocks center" into > the box to search teachers.net, you'll get a link to it. That's how > I always get to it! > > HTH! > Steph :) > > On 7/16/08, Kimberly wrote: >> Ah, that would help...1st Grade! >> >> On 7/16/08, What grade do you teach? nfm wrote: >>> On 7/16/08, Kimberly wrote: >>>> We are starting the model this year. It looks very >>>> thorough and I am excited to get it going. Our adopted >>>> text is Scott Foresman, but understand this is not to >>>> dictate our curriculum. So, my question is where to you >>>> get the spelling, sight words, etc. for the Working with >>>> Words portion? Here's how I see implementing it... >>>> >>>> 8:15-8:30 Working with words (alternate sight words and >>>> spelling words daily)...should those come from the SF or >>>> is there a recommended list? >>>> 8:30-9:15 Guided Reading (again, is there a recommendation >>>> for these titles or can it be the readers that come with >>>> Scott Foresman?) Do I understand this to be about 15 >>>> minutes of large group instruction and then a rotation of >>>> various reading opportunities? >>>> Break >>>> 9:30-10-Self Selected Reading >>>> 10-10:45 - Writing (We were planning on using the Six >>>> Traits writing model). >>>> >>>> After lunch is math (50 min.), recess, pull-outs (we will >>>> do centers during this time for more small group reading >>>> opportunities), followed by science/social studies for 50 >>>> min.