A Teacher's Ruminations

I have approximately 55 minutes to teach language arts. It's not enough time, of course. But then how much time is enough time? As I work through this dilemma, I have decided that some routines are non-negotiable. Independent reading and read aloud need to happen every day, and my students need time to write and explore different writing techniques in a writer's notebook. So far, I've been able to stay the course even if we've had to skip read aloud on occasion. In the meantime, here are some things I've noticed so far: Most of my students come in at the beginning of class and settle in around the room with a book ; they know that the first 10 - 15 minutes are for independent reading and they take this time seriously. I have my work cut out with some students who don't like to read , or so they say. What they don't know, or at least don't think I'm serious when I tell them, is that my goal for this year is to make sure that everyone loves t...