Chapter 9: Planning for Block Scheduling

Although the title of chapter 9 is "Planning for Block Scheduling" I felt like it could have been better titled Planning for your Lessons. That is what this whole chapter was about. Yes it did have some parts about planning for a larger block then per usual, but it was very brief. Although I disagreed with the title I did like some of the things Wormeli wrote in this chapter. One of the things that I really liked was the idea about taking attendance while the students are doing something so that you don't delay the lesson. I also liked when they wrote "I want to begin with the end in mind, and assessment is incorporated with instruction." I need to permanently get my mind to go into this mindset. Don't base everything around the finished product without knowing where you are beginning. There was one thing about this chapter that really caught my attention. Under the section titled Inviting Thinking Activity the first line is I have to get them engaged within ninety seconds of entering the classroom. I have never heard this before, but I feel like there is some truth in it. Although it will be really tough to do, I feel that if I can get and hold the students attention from the beginning the rest of the lesson will go smoother.