Resolutions: Professional

Here I am with this last post to complete my New Year's Resolutions!

First of all, I'm a lover of reading.  I mean, it's kinda crazy how much I love to read.  So this year I'm going to up my intake of some good ole professional literature!  I have 3 books in my Amazon cart and 1 should arrive tomorrow!  I actually have another book on my nightstand right now ("Strategies That Work").  Can we say "book nerd"?  Have any of you read any of these books?  I'm pretty excited!  :)

With the new teacher evaluation system in Ohio, next year we have to have MUCH more detailed plans.  I put together a general overview of my week, but we're talking the kind of lesson plans you had to write in college!  Remember how we all used to say, "Oh, we'll NEVER have to write REAL plans like this when we're real teachers!"  Actually, I think I definitely might have told a former student teacher that recently...  Well, next year we have to write them like that!  Yeah!  Objectives, resources and materials, differentiated components for EACH LESSON, assessments for EACH LESSON, standards for each lesson...I'm *hoping* I can put a day's worth on one page!  Right now I can lay out a whole WEEK in 2 pages.  EEK!  Our principal is encouraging the use of using Excel to write plans.  Um...I never did like Excel.  If any of you have any easy-to-comprehend tutorials on creating lesson plans (or any tutorial, really...I'm dumb when it comes to Excel), please pass them my way!  The start of my new lesson plans is just frustrating me to no end!

And finally...GOING BACK TO SCHOOL!  That's right, folks.  I'm going back to get my Reading Endorsement.  I already have my Masters, but this allows me to add a reading endorsement to my current teaching license.  I'll be certified to teach reading (Title I, Reading Coach, Reading Recovery, etc., etc., etc.) in the state of Ohio, K-12.  Class starts NEXT THURSDAY and I am BEYOND pumped!  A fellow co-worker and I are doing it together and we are so GIDDY!  It'll be great.  I even told her today, "I'm just excited to go get a fun notebook and some new pens!"  Yeah, like I said: NERD!  But I would be a professional student if I could.  I'm REALLY looking forward to what I'll be learning and what I can bring back into my own classroom!  And to be honest, I kind of hope to one day teach reading intervention to older kids (like 2nd and 3rd)...IF it's ever available.  I LOVE the comprehension side of reading and have taken a huge interest in it as of late.  Of course we do comprehension in 1st grade, but the curriculum is MUCH more phonics-based.  Truth be told, my dream job would be a curriculum director!  But that's WAY in the future and who knows if I'll actually ever pursue it.  But for now, a reading endorsement it is!  I LOVE teaching reading, so this is right up my alley!

I will be back later this week with some progress on my organization resolutions!  :)