Never before in the history of education have teachers deserved + needed a summer break so much.
If it’s within your power to choose, please, dear teacher, take this summer off. Skip that extra conference. Decline joining that new group.
Do only those school-related tasks that will give you energy + refill your teacher-soul.
I know lots of you feel guilty at even the mention of a real break from the school grind. “But I need to revamp my curriculum,” you say. “ If I have the time to plan for next year, I should get as much done as I can this summer.”
Maybe. But I’m going to encourage you to only do those things that put your mind at rest + bring you joy.
To that end, I am sending out printable, reproducible 2021-2022 planning pack to members next week that is full of OPTIONS for thinking through the big, broad strokes of the coming school year when you feel like it over the summer. No pressure. No mandates. Just tools to help you organize your brain, set a few goals, and prioritize for what’s to come so that you feel energized and ready for the new school year in a few months.
The Teacher’s Reflective Planning Pack is a super-flexible resource that could be used this summer as well as throughout the coming school year. It can be used invidiually, or with your best teacher pal, or as a grade level/department.
The planning pack includes pages to help you think through:
the inputs you want to seek to fill you up this summer
elements you want to bring back from pre-COVID school years and elements you want to keep from 2020-2021
one or two new elements you’d like to try in your class next year
the regular rhythms and routines you’d like to implement to bring structure + freedom to your classroom
predictable moments of the 2021-2022 school year
reading + writing units to teach
“flags, chairs, + bunting” for the coming school year
skill maps (reading + writing)
strategy planner (reading + writing)
unit blueprints (reading + writing)
It’s designed to meet your needs as they arise.
Today, I’d love to give you one piece of it for free. This is the tool I use to think through the planning of a writing unit.
Later in June, I’ll be sharing a complete unit for helping students write narrative scenes + sharing plans for what our membership community will look like next year!
Thanks for everything, Rebekah. I can't wait for the narrative scenes info. I've been trying my best, but I know you'll help me up my game. (I will only have one week left with my kids, but there is always my own writing practice to improve...a great way to take summer off and write for myself.)