16 July 2015

Year Long Planning & Pacing Guide (K & 1st Grades)

Hello all! 

I am still trying to recover from our whirlwind "vacation".  We travel to Indiana every year to visit our family for the 4th and for the last couple of years our annual trip to the Midwest has coincided with the National SDE conferences in Vegas.   This year we flew to Indiana and stayed for a few days.  Then the WHOLE family drove up to Michigan where my brother & sister-in-law live.  We spent  a few days there celebrating the 4th (an annual family tradition) and then my husband and I flew to Vegas from Michigan and left the kids with grandma and grandpa...Camp Carroll :)  We stayed in Vegas for 7 days and then flew back to Michigan.  As soon as we landed we drove back to Indiana, stayed the night with grandma and grandpa, enjoyed a family picnic the next day, and then flew back to Houston that night.  

WHEW!!!!

Needless to say, I'm SO glad to be home!!  But I'm still trying to get back to normal.  

I met so many AMAZING people in Vegas.  There are so many inspiring educators and I love being able to talk to so many of them about the great things going on in their classrooms.  One of the conversations I had with a few of the teachers I met was all about pacing and planning.  I'm a firm believer in starting with the end in mind and the best way to do that is to sit down and figure out your year.  Identify where you need to start and where your kids will need to finish.   This will determine your course for the year.  I organize my year with a yearlong pacing calendar.



I know many districts provide a yearlong pacing/planning calendar.  I know many do not.  I've taught in districts with both scenarios and let me tell you...it's SO much easier to have a pacing guide with which to work!!  I went ahead and mapped out my year in both Kindergarten and First Grade so you can see what my year looks like and how I *attempt* to fit it all in.  While I know these pacing calendars may not work for many of you, I'm hoping  they *might* help some...especially those of you without the luxury of a yearlong planner.  

These pacing calendars ARE NOT editable, so I apologize for that, but they're a great starting point for those of you still trying to figure out your year!





I love being able to glance at my year in an easy-to-read format.  It helps me to plan and prep materials in advance which makes me look like I'm organized (although I'm FAR from it, haha!!).  I keep a copy of my pacing guide on my desk (where I sit to create activities for my kids) and in my planning binder.  I take my planning binder to team meetings and bring it home with me and I always like to have a copy with me for those just in case moments :)  Here's how I format the plans so that I can see all the "big ideas" for the month on one little sheet.


While we're talking about the year-at-a-glance, I want to let you know that I added these thematic vocabulary cards to my shop.  There are over 800 title and picture/word cards included and they're $3 OFF tonight only, so grab 'em while they're discounted!!  If you already own my Work on Writing Bundle, DO NOT purchase these.  These are all included in the Work on Writing monthly packets.  


These have been such a great resource for my kids to use in their writing and they've also helped to build their vocabulary as well.  

As always, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!
Have a great day!

38 comments:

  1. Cara,
    It was so great to see you and Erica Bohrer @ SDE and the TpT conferences. I just love both of your products and blogs. I felt like a stalker because every time I turned around you and Erica were there. I hope you know that you are in my prayers that you continue to bless children and teachers around the world utilizing your God given talents. Continue to serve and keep him first in your life and his favor will continue to shine upon your life. As my mom use to always tell me, keep sweet!
    Your Fan in So Cal!

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    1. You are so sweet, Cheryl!!! Thanks for taking time to leave such a positive message!!! Blessings to you!

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  2. Thank you so much, Cara! I missed seeing you this year but hope to see you next summer at the conferences. Your pacing guides will help me tremendously. I always love to see what other teachers are doing. #ridingthebusdownstrugglestreet - You should trademark that. Ha! I love it! I've been to struggle street so many times - I probably have a lifetime pass on that bus route. :) Your periscope was awesome. <3

    Thanks so much!!
    Cher
    Mrs. Harrison's Hive

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    1. Hope to see you next year too, Cherilyn!! I'm glad to hear that this pacing guide will help!! And girl, I LIVE on that route ;) LOL!!!

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  3. I don't teach K or 1 but I had to download anyway to see how you set it up. I love the layout you chose. I'm in the process of planning for 2nd grade so this was a real help to see how you laid out your plans. Thanks so much!

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    1. Hey Courtney!!! So happy to hear this was helpful!!!

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  4. Hi, I love your planner. Is there any possible way to get an editable version for first grade?

    Renae010986@aol.com

    Thank YOU,
    Renae Adamski

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    1. Shoo..I don't have an editable version available :( SO sorry!!!

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  5. Cara these are great! Love checking out how other teachers map out their year. Thank you so much for sharing and glad you had a GREAT trip!

    Kelly
    Lattes and Lunchrooms

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    1. I always love seeing how everyone else organizes their year, too!!!

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  6. These are awesome! Love the format and layout. Thanks for sharing. If at all possible, I too would like to get an editable version as school starts here in GA in 3 weeks! Thanks! Angela.Titus@Cobbk12.org

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    1. I don't have an editable version, Angela! SO sorry!!!

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  7. Thank you so much for this post Cara! It was like you read my mind! My district recently gave myself and two of my co-workers the task of completely revamping our math pacing guide and moving away from our math series to more of an exploratory math group approach (Yay!). We just met the other day and it was hard to combine two different schools of thought when some were still stuck in their "old ways." I'm going to share your first grade pacing guide with my colleagues in hopes that it will give us a good jumping off point for creating ours. Thanks again, and I'm so glad I was able to meet you in Vegas! You are the best!
    ~Becky

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    1. SO great meeting you too, Becky!!! I do hope this layout helps you and your colleagues!!

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  8. Girl...just reading about your whirlwind vacation wears me out ;)

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  9. Thank you so much for this! I'm a first year homeschool mom and I'm very anxious about pacing. Your calendar just makes sense. You are one smart cookie! :)

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  10. I don't have an editable version available, Kim :( So sorry!

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  11. Cara!
    Love reading your blog! Your pacing guide is awesome! You have inspired me and I just wanted to say THANK YOU! I am trying to create my own blog and it is scary & exciting all at once! Eeek!
    Thanks again! You ROCK!

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  12. Cara, thank you so much for the detailed pacing guides! Wow! You are truly a superwoman!! I can't wait to print these babies out and reference them during lesson planning! Keep up the inspiring work!

    Whitney (Miss Bunny's Hoppenings)

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  13. What a great resources. I sit down and pace every summer for the next year. I love having your insight to compare my pacing and consider new ways to lay out the year.
    Thanks so much!

    Amber
    School Is a Happy Place

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  14. Thanks so much! As the only first grade teacher in my district, I sometimes feel "lost" when planning things--do others do it like this? Am I covering enough? Am I going too slow/too fast? I so appreciate your insight.

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  15. These are fantastic! I teach K-2, so it is wonderful to see the overlap between the two grades. Thank you for letting us have this as a jumping off point in planning our own year.

    and by 'jumping off point', I mean 'totally using this'. ;)

    Ruthanne

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  17. Hi! I love your blog and your store!!! Is there anyway that I could get/purchase an editable version of the year long kindergarten pacing calendar. I love it and would love to edit and use it! Please let me know :) starr.harris@comcast.net... Thanks!

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  18. Great pacing guides. Can you refer us to a product that would help get started with the weekly/monthly pacing as units? I know you have monthly science packages but I didn't know if you had one for each month. Thanks!

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  19. I know you said you don't have an editable version of this but I was just wondering if you could tell us what program you made this using, I love the layout and colours and would love to be able to recreate something similiar

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  20. Are you going to make another pacing guide like this one for the 16-17 school year? If not could you tell me what program you used to make this so I can make one similar to yours?!

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  21. Are you going to make another pacing guide like this one for the 16-17 school year? If not could you tell me what program you used to make this so I can make one similar to yours?!

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  22. I would LOVE to purchase an editable version of your Kinder pacing calendar! Please let me know if this is possible! dpett@houstonisd.org

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  23. I would also love to have a copy like this for the 16-17 school year.

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  24. I would also love to have a copy like this for the 16-17 school year.

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  25. I would also love to have a copy like this for the 16-17 school year.

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  26. Is it possible to get a copy of the 16-17 planning version? Your products are AMAZING and I appreciate your contributions to education! ehaydenm@gmail.com

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  27. I was wondering about a 2016-17 copy as well..

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