Singleton- Routman (2003), Ch. 12: You Only Have So Much Time

The biggest struggle I have as a teacher is that I only have so much time. This became especially true when I switched from having my students all day in a self-contained setting, to only having my students for 50 minutes a day.  I had to start doing a few things differently in my classroom to try and get the most out of my time. I had to start making word more meaningful and simple. This means I no longer can do as many fun crafts. If I do a craft I try to make it as simply as possible and include as much of my lesson into the craft as possible. I had to start incorporating assessment into things such as games. I will often play a game to keep learning fun for the students. They must write their answers on a white board. I keep points for correct answers. What the students don’t know is that this actually helps me assess each individual student to see who understands the skill and even what individual part they don’t understand. I also had to keep the class going at a lively pace. The book mentions that students often only hold their attention for 10 minutes unless they are interesting and working at a fast pace. I believe this is very true. My lessons are a very fast pace, we do not have long transition times where their attention could wander.

I would have loved to have read this chapter when I was teaching all subjects in a self contained class. This book gives so many ideas on how to keep learning meaningful all day. I love the idea of the transition times turning into teaching times. It is such a great idea to ask students spelling questions while they are cleaning up or walking down the hall. That gives the teacher a lot more time!