Thoughts coming to the end of the school year...

The end is coming rapidly or sometimes not rapidly enough and I am keenly aware of all I haven't gotten done.  I did okay with the first units of Grade Six and Seven Science (mainly because my resource teacher taught the grade six science for awhile) and our teacher-librarian did two units of Social Studies with the Grade Sevens and one with the Grade Sixes.  And let's face it Science isn't my best teaching subject nor probably is Grade Seven math (just hoping I will have it under control by next year).  One reassuring thing is I am keeping my Grade Sixes so we can continue onward and I am feeling very good about their math!  Those of you who follow this blog know that with many hits and misses reading has gone fairly well.  I somehow seem to have had them write mainly non-fiction so I think I will be beginning in with fiction and poetry next year!
I had a fun mini-unit last week when I had a hodge podge of two classes due to the district track meet.  I focussed on wolves using fairly tale (I used the first story from the fantastic There's a Wolf at the Door,) an apparently factual book, Emily Gravett's Wolves, (well somewhat factual until the rabbit is eaten by the wolf as he is busily reading a book about wolves), and a factual article from National Geographic Kids and ending with them writing reports on wolves.  I think I needed to do more of this kind of thing!  We had lots of good listening and note taking and lots of using of strategies and everyone had a beautiful looking finished product in their own words.
I am ending the year with the grade sixes presenting reports each on a city and the sevens picking a subject in Ancient China, Rome, or Greece and doing presentations since we ran out of time!  Mind you when I taught grade six I never finished the socials curriculum.  Some of my studies this year seemed to peter out and some never happened.  But now it's the point where I have to  realize this and hope that they have better science teachers next year but have acquired some non-fiction reading skills, and that they will finish Dormia and it's sequel on their own.
But again maybe that is the great thing about teaching.  It doesn't end with us in one year.

Next week we are off to Science World and Sun Yat Sen Gardens.  At the latter we are going to make gun powder.  They asked if they get to bring it home.  Hmm...
P.S. I am avoiding writing report cards!