adapt or go mad

Being a teacher means being ready to adapt.

Yesterday was the first day third grade grouped across the grade level for reading. I had 20 students from other classes plus six from my own. That means an hour of reading only and everything else being rescheduled around it.

Oh, and a half hour music rehearsal on the stage first thing in the morning. This was scheduled by the music teacher who didn't realize she should have told us sooner than last week. We had to arrange with another grade level to trade because we were originally scheduled for the middle of our new reading time.

Oh, and I got a new student yesterday. She can read, but I'm worried about where she is in math.

All of these little things plus the long weekend added up to behavior problems.

Now I had plenty of warning about this, but today is my yearly observation. A 45 minute snapshot of my teaching prowess. This year I have to teach an "Articulated Writing" lesson. This is the latest writing program the district has adopted. The administrator who is observing me made it clear she wanted to see direct instruction. Well a good lesson doesn't just have direct instruction. It also has guided practice and independent practice. So how I'm going to gracefully end this lesson is still up in the air. Perhaps I'll have a student hold up a "The End" sign and take a curtsy.