Teachers!!!!! SRA - Imagine It is driving me crazy!!! ?

Question

I am teaching Imagine It Language Arts for the first time. The time schedule and all the rules and regulations are impossible to work with. If you are teaching it, or have taught it, and can give me any help or suggestions, please let me know. I teach 5th grade and have done so for many, many years. Never has any program caused me so much pain!

Answer 1

Do not worry!  There is a lot in the Imagine It! Teacher's Edition:   more than enough for approximately two periods of literacy instruction per school day.  It will take time to get familiar with the process because it is so comprehensive.  

Now, your school may have stricter rules than mine.  For example, in the third grade, I do not have the children read the story in the literature basal twice.  I can incorporate some of the spelling activities in the workbook or writing activities as a "Do Now" when children enter in the morning, return from lunch, or as an activity when they finish work in other subjects.  

Try to be creative with the components--and when components repeat to reinforce the skill, strategy, etc., over a number of days:  if your children already master it, only work with a small group who needs remediation in that area, and keep the whole class moving.  This would be particularly important if you are the "English teacher" and the children move on to another teacher.

Imagine It! also ties together the following teaching methods:  Understanding by Design, Differentiation Instruction, Response to Intervention, Balanced Literacy, as well as "Reading First" and "Reading Next" reports.  There is also an "SRA site" for Imagine It! users.  You can find out more about all of these by searching for sites online.

I wish you much success as it is obvious you care about the students you are teaching.