Don't lose heart!

Home

Chat

Blogs

Collection

Directory

Home : 2002 : August : 31

Don't lose heart!
By Amie

Please don't give up! You can be creative with Open Court! I have taught the program (3rd-5th) for eight years, and I've inserted plenty of my own style into it. I currently teach 5th grade in a small independent school,
where my students are generally excellent readers. In fact, my school is a model teaching site for Open Court in our state. (No, I don't get paid to promote Open Court! )
I think some of the problems that you are encountering come from school systems trying to implement the program so that it is identical in every classroom. They are probably scared that teachers who don't fully

understand or like Open Court will just drop it. But I promise that there is some ground between blind adherence to a reading program and an academic free-for-all.
My advice would be to keep your creative ideas, novel studies, etc. Just consider how they tie in with the principles of the program - the reading strategies, research cycle, etc. If you do that, your activities will serve to enhance and enliven an already strong program.
If you'd like more info, feel free to email me.