Setting Up Classroom Routines for Third Grade

A major focus I have for next year is setting up classroom routines that encourage students to persevere and problem solve independently. I want them to have the structures in place to learn how to think through problems instead of memorizing what to do.

One way I intend to do this is by using Daily 5 for ELA and math. Although, I won't be doing five rotations of either of them.

I will have three rotations of math. I have created a graphic organizer for every day of math for the entire first trimester.

I got the basic plan: Teacher Time, Lesson Work, and Math Centers from 3rd Grade Thoughts. I also put a question above the graphic organizer, so students would know what to expect during Teacher Time. I did not put the learning target because I read that kids are less interested when they know what they are doing. It is like giving a child an open present - not nearly as fun as a wrapped present.

Then, for ELA I made four rotations.

I chose four rotations (and included Teacher Time and Lesson Work again) because we just don't have time for five stations. Lesson Work is like Read to Self, but sometimes the kids will have other assignments in addition to reading. For example, when they are learning how to use dictionaries they will do this work during Lesson Work time.

I will only have three groups of kids to move through the rotations. That way I will always have one rotation that I can meet with individual students. This was the only way I knew that I would definitely get to meet with individuals every day. This was always the hardest part for me in years past.

I built the graphic organizers for the students, and I will project them during our rotation time. This way kids will know exactly what to do at every rotation. I will write more on how that will work in my classroom soon.

I also built a plan for me as the teacher:

I am having so much fun working on this project, but it is very slow! I will share more later!