Junior Timetable

 

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
8:45 to 8:55	Morning announcements
9:00 to 9:55	Mathematics	Mathematics	Mathematics	Mathematics	Mathematics
10:00 to 10:45	Social Studies/Science	Social Studies/Science	Social Studies/Science	Social Studies/Science	Social Studies/Science
10:45 to 11:00	Recess
11:00 to 11:45	Language Arts (Collaborative and Guided Reading and Writing)	Language Arts (Collaborative and Guided Reading and Writing)	Language Arts (Collaborative and Guided Reading and Writing	Language Arts (Collaborative and Guided Reading and Writing	Language Arts (Collaborative and Guided Reading and Writing
11:45 to 12:30	Lunch
12:30 to 1:25	Language Arts (Multimedia/Art)	Language Arts (Independent reading)	Language Arts (Multimedia/Art)	Language Arts (Independent reading)	Language Arts (Multimedia/Art)
1:30 to 2:10	French	French	French	French	French
2:15 to 2:30	Recess
2:30 to 2:55	Physical Education	Personal Development/Work Period/House-keeping	Physical Education	Personal Development/Work Period/House-keeping	Physical Education
2:55 to 3:05	Prepare for busses	Prepare for busses	Prepare for busses	Prepare for busses	Prepare for busses

 

Explanation:

As I prepared this timetable, there were a few important elements, especially with regards to literacy. Firstly, I wanted to ensure that students had specific time to engage with multimedia and art. I would ideally use this period after lunch to develop technological and media literacy (Schwartz and Pollishuke, p. 19). I also intentionally placed the lunch period in between the two language and literacy blocks to encourage “purposeful talk” at the beginning and end of every period to ideally allow students to “solidify their ideas and understandings” (Ontario Education, p. 46).

There are a few other things to note within this time table. I placed the Mathematics period at the beginning of the day, because I have experienced greater student focus in the morning as long as students are well fed.  There are also five minute gaps between most periods to allow for travel time between rooms or bathroom breaks. Along with scheduling Physical Education at the end of the day, I also scheduled Personal Development. This class could be used as a Personal Development course where students learn about body image or bullying, become involved in a community project, or simply use it as a work period. I completed a student-teaching placement at school that also had a work period in their time table and I thought it was an excellent use of time.

 

Resources:

Ontario Education, (2006) “A Guide to Effective Literacy Instruction: Volume 3: Planning and Classroom Management.”

Schwartz, S. & Pollishuke, M. (2012). Creating the Dynamic Classroom. Pearson Canada: Toronto, ON.