So Many Standards, So Little Time

     I am feeling as though I will never be able to incorporate all of the Common Core standards in a deep and meaningful way within my third grade classroom. It has me asking the question, "How much time do you have in your school day?"

     It seems as though we are asking students to learn more content much more deeply than ever before, yet we have not increased instructional time.  At least not in my district.  My students begin school at 8:05 a.m. and leave at 2:20.  In actuality, class cannot begin until at least 8:20, due to a number of students having breakfast in the cafeteria, school-wide announcements and the Pledge of Allegiance.  Within that six hour block of time, students are out of the classroom for lunch, recess, and a fifty minute specialist period, which accounts for at least an hour and thirty-five minutes.  Factor in bathroom breaks and a quick snack in the morning, and we are down to about four hours of classroom instruction. Yikes!

I would love to hear from you!  How much instructional time do you have daily, and how are you making it work?