Prepare for Next Year… NOW!
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Are you looking for ways to prepare for the next school year now? I always start dreaming about my next school year in May. May is also the time when I have to pack up my class. Here are a few ways to help you prepare for next year.
Clean out and Pack up!
Quite honestly, I have always had to resist the urge to shove and stuff at the end of the year. In May, I always feel like I am in panic mode. There never seems to be enough time. So returning the retired math and literacy activities to the proper place takes a back seat. It helps to have a spot to store them. So, as I pull out the next week’s (or month’s) activities, I can easily return the completed ones to their rightful home.
I also want to take the time to look at the materials I have in the bins. It is time to purge the ones you did not use from the year before. Having bins pre-labeled helps. You can download these bin labels for FREE by clicking HERE.
Since I use these differentiated cubes over and over, I do not store them like this. [I purchased the blank cubes HERE.] I take the cards out of the dice…
and this is how the Just Roll With It cards are stored.
Binders for days!
Writing
I like to keep by curriculum in individual binders. This makes them easier for me to use.
You will notice that the fiction unit (unit 7) and opinion unit are missing from my shelf at home. That is because I am using them in a classroom right now. You can see all of the writing units HERE.
I love having a monthly overview of the lessons that I am going to teach. This allows me to look ahead and move lessons around to fit the needs of the classroom. If I am noticing the bulk of the students need to work on making their words easier to read, but I am only on Day 4, I can easily skip ahead and teach Day 8. Then I can go back to the Day 4 lesson the next day.
I also use plastic pocket page dividers to organize my mentor text. Each writing unit has a few suggested mentor texts. I like to keep those texts in the binders.
Close Reading
Avery binder company LOVES me! I got all of my binders at CostCo. They seem to have the best price, but you can also get them HERE on Amazon. 
The plastic pocket dividers are perfect for organizing the books.
Each of our Guiding Readers Close Reading units are planned out for you! Just print and teach!
Leveled Text
We have completed 2 sets of leveled text. Level C will come out this week! Again! I love the binders to keep them organized.
The plastic pocket dividers are perfect to store the books.
I also use them to store the word work and sentence work. Then the lesson plans and running records are at my fingertips as well.
Math
Deanna Jump and I created our guided math curriculum for kindergarten way back in 2013. It was one of the first guided math curriculum units that were made FOR kindergarten teachers BY kindergarten teachers. While we are extremely proud of them, it was time for them to get a little face lift. We started this update with the creation of an additional unit. We had been contacted by school districts in Texas who were looking for one additional unit to help them meet their TEKS kindergarten standards. Ta DA!
Again… we offered a month-at-a-glance view.
We also reformatted the lessons. We added a literacy connection suggestion and video links! In units 1-10, the lessons will remain the same, we just want them to get a fresh look. You can expect all of the kindergarten units to be updated by mid-July. So, you may want to hold off on printing these until then.
Curriculum Maps
Curriculum Maps are a fantastic way to organize your thinking. These kindergarten and first grade curriculum maps offer the “Big Ideas” surrounding reading, writing, math, and phonics.
Prepare for Next Year Now
Start slow. Don’t get overwhelmed. Think about what worked great for you last year. Think about what areas you would like to improve on. If you start now, you will not feel so overwhelmed in August.
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Deedee Wills
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
Hi, I'm DeedeE.
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
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25 Responses
Hi Deedee, I have been using your guided reading curriculum and love it. My kiddos really improved their retelling skills this year?. I was wondering where can I find the side profile binder labels for these units? Thanks, Melissa
Hi Melissa! Thank you so much! I am so happy to hear your students are rockin’ the retell! I noticed the exact same thing in my classroom! You can find the binder spines in the free download that was included in this post.
I absolutely love this! As you are working in classrooms have you worked in any half day programs? If so, please share any tips you have for fitting it all in (or the best things to prioritize).
Hi Natalie! Yes! Bless you half day teachers! It is a struggle to get it all in I am certain.
One option is to alternate writers workshop with reading response (still do the reading thinking, but just not the writing response part of Guiding Readers.
You might also only do one stations time. For example, in my classroom I had one station time that was literacy. Then in the afternoon, we had math stations. You may want to combine this time and have a mixture of math and literacy activities in your station time.
I hope that helps!
Thank you so much Deedee for the extra Math unit with time and money. You read my mind. You are such a great mentor to me without even knowing it. I met you twice in Chicago since I work for Chicago Public Schools and you are as gracious in person. I strive to be as good as you one day! I’m sure you hear this all the time, but if you are ever in the Chicago area and want to stop by, my classroom door is always open. =)
Best,
Ashley King
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Gosh! Thank you Ashley! I am so glad you have found me helpful. Here is the truth though… if we worked together, I would be the one that you would have to knock on my door and say, “Hey, Deedee… it’s lunch time.” or “Hey, Deedee… we have an assembly now.” I was once voted, “Most likely to be confused about the schedule.” So my flaws are many!!!
I would love to come visit!!!!!
I have purchased the writing units, guided readers monthly units, guided reading leveled units, and the math units. I love everything and how easy it is to organize! Will the math units have spine labels?
Hi Lesley, Yes! They are in the free download I listed in this post. Here is the link:
FREE Curriculum Organization Guide
Hello!! Thank you for everything you do. Your units make my live so easy. I have all the reading, math, writing, roll say keep, and math and literacy games. ( I am a Deedee Junkie) I was wondering what size containers you are using to store your things. They look like they stack nicely and fit what is needed. Thank you again for making my life easier.
Hi there! Thank you so much!!!
The bins with the monthly stations are 15″ x 11 1/2″ x 6″ (I know because I left the label on one…lazy).
I use and love the guided math for first graders. Are you planning on updating those with a literacy component as well? I also love your guided reading level units. I can’t wait to use them (and leave them for subs!:)
I love all of your resources. Thank you! I am now in the organization phase…..what size binders do you use for each- reading, writing, math. I used a 2 in for one of the guided reading and it was a hot mess. Am I putting too much in them? I did use page protectors. ? Maybe I should just hole punch the papers.
Thanks for all you do and trying to help the unorganized get organized.
Hi Michelle,
Leveled Texts: I do not have page protectors only the dividers (one for each book)… so 6 per binder. My binder is 2″ and they all seem to fit in there. I would try taking the protectors out and hole punching them.
Guiding Readers: 3″ binder, but I think a smaller binder would work just fine.
Math and Writing: 1 1/2 or 2″ binders would work great 🙂
I cannot find where your curriculum maps are? Also, I have purchase some of the units and was looking to have the matching spines for the binders and am not able to find those either. Can you point me in the right direction/? Thanks!
Hi Kelli!
There is a box at the end of the post. If you fill that out, it will be emailed to you. It all comes together. 🙂
Hi LOVE THIS!!! Do you have a ink for the monthly plastic bins? Thank you!
I got them at Target a few years ago. I think they still have them there!
One more thing, I don’t see a link to the Guided Reading units. I looked in both your store and Deanna Jump’s, there are some in her store that have different covers ?? Where can I find the ones you reference above?
Thanks!
Here is the link to the Leveled Texts: Leveled Texts
The covers that I had in my pictures are the binder covers that are included in the units. 🙂
Hi. I have been using the Kindergarten Math bundle that you and Deanna created for several years now but am finally getting around to organizing it. I was wondering if you have binder splines for the units? I have begun putting everything into 1 !/2 in. binders but once they are on the shelves I can’t tell which unit they are so this would be helpful and your stuff is so nice! Thanks. Susan
Yes! You will find them in the curriculum guide. You will find it on the sidebar of my blog. It is free 🙂
I love it all! Do you have a way to purchase your curriculum as one large bundle for everything so I make sure and get all I need at once. Once I sit down to get it all organized I want to have it all! 🙂
I’m sorry, I don’t 🙁