Block Scheduling Love

LOOONG BLOCK is coming to our school. I really can't wait. Under our old schedule, we had 49 minute classes and there were 7 periods per day. Pretty traditional. I work at a middle school, so the kids are on teams. We had to do lots and lots of cross-teaming as a result of the old schedule.   It apparently caused lots of scheduling issues because it was inflexible.  As a school, we don't love our standardized test scores. So....bring on the change. Block scheduling has been around for a long time, but it is new in our town. In 6th grade, the students will have 85 minute Math and Language Arts classes. Science will each be one hour for half the year. In 7th and 8th grade we will have 75 minute Math, LA, Science and Social Studies. In addition, we will all have a flexible block around the lunch hour where we will teach enrichment classes as well as remediate where needed. In addition to all of this, the flexible lunch class will be on an A/B rotation. We will therefore teach enrichment every other day and remediate on the others.  I am excited about the flip flop.

      This flexible period has everyone a little scared. We have periods like that in the past and quite frankly, they have been a nightmare to teach. We often had too little direction and too many expectations.  I don't think that will be the case this time. I have faith in our leadership to not leave us high and dry.
     I think what is most important about the block scheduling is that teaching has to be different as well.
 There is no way that kids can sit and attend for 75 minutes. I know I can't. My plan is to have things change every 15 to 20 minutes or so, to keep it interesting.  Keeping it interesting can be a struggle in math sometimes! Not only does the new schedule require new teaching methods, raising test scores also requires new teaching methods. Not just by me, but by all of us.  We need to support each other...to ALL become more effective teachers.  We are only as strong as our weakest link. Albert Einstein once said...

 Words to remember. 

One thing I forgot...We will also have a drop schedule. This means that in 7th and 8th grade we will meet with each class 4 times per week~say what!?  There is only enough time in the day's allotted time to teach three 75 minute classes, one 60 minute flexible class and one 75 prep/duty period.  We will have 4 classes but meet with 3 each day.  Wowza.  this was the hardest thing to wrap my head around. I think I've got it. It certainly makes it all interesting.

I will keep posting about successes, failures and reflections.