How many classes do you teach? Preps?

[imimahoney]

Aug 2, 2017 2:03:39 GMT -5 nellgirl said:

Also, reading this thread, we is the term prep differently. Prep for us is planning time.
What is the other meaning? It seems like a bad thing. Sorry if that's a dumb question.

Prep is also planning time for us.

We have 6 blocks a day. I either teach 4 classes, have 1 full period prep and then a split duty/prep OR teach 5 classes and have 1 prep. The teach 5 days happen twice in a 7 day cycle. Those days suck.

[taratru]

We have a weird schedule, but I teach 5 class periods, three different courses. On Monday, all five, Tues/Th 3 blocks, W-2 blocks, F-2 blocks and an advisory class.

[irishbride2]

It changes slightly each year but generally I teach 5 classes with 3 preps. (8th grade).

I teach Algebra (2 sections). Honors Algebra (2 sections). Honors Geometry (1 section).

Every once and awhile (last year was one) we don't have kids for Honors Geometry and I have 5 classes with 2 preps.

Our schedule snakes so I only see each class 4 times a week. But I teach 5 different math sections. On a given day, I have 5 or 4 of those classes. 

[btdt]

I teach 5 periods, 2 preps. This year it is Statistical Reasoning and Precalculus (juniors and seniors). I also get an hour for planning (unless I get pulled to cover another class for a teacher who is running late, or for standardized testing), and an hour for lunch, with 30 minutes of lunch duty every day every other week.

[cabbage10]

We are on a block schedule with 90 min classes. I have 3 blocks I teach and 1 for planning. I have two Preps; honors and academic chemistry. They are very different courses .

2 days a week we have tutoring through lunch in addition to our normal flexible morning tutoring.

Some of you have very difficult numbers of preps. I am in awe of you guys

[court26]

This is so interesting to read. I am a special education 12:1:1 elementary teacher, so I have my kids all day minus lunch and 1 planning period each day. My prep or planning periods are never really child-free. We always try to integrate kiddos into general ed for specials if it is appropriate, which is awesome, but makes for no kid-free time for the teacher!

[RoxMonster]

I teach 5 50-minute classes a day. There is no hard and fast rule about the amount of preps, but they like to keep it to three. However, I have regularly had four and one year had FIVE. Yes, every class I taught was different (my principal did ask me before she did this and would have done it differently had I said no).

Then I have one planning period and one duty, which is usually study hall.

[honeydew1894]

We have 42 minute periods, and I will be teaching English 7 (3 sections), English 7 Skills (1 section) and AIS 7 (2 sections, every other day).

[Jalapeñomel]

When you say block schedules, what do you mean? I think I have a different idea of what it means.

[artgirl823]

I teach 7-12th grade art. Theoretically, we're supposed to teach 5 42-minute periods a day, and have no more than 3 preps (distinct courses to plan for). Last year, I taught 7 classes a day and had 7 preps. (A part-time, first year teacher quit two weeks into the school year, and another teacher and I absorbed her courses.) My school waived my administrative duty (usually something like study hall, breakfast, or lunch supervision) and I got paid an extra 20% of my salary, but it was horrible.

This year, I'm thrilled to be down to 4 preps. It's all relative, I guess. 

[Jalapeñomel]

Aug 14, 2017 14:48:02 GMT -5 artgirl823 said:

I teach 7-12th grade art. Theoretically, we're supposed to teach 5 42-minute periods a day, and have no more than 3 preps (distinct courses to plan for). Last year, I taught 7 classes a day and had 7 preps. (A part-time, first year teacher quit two weeks into the school year, and another teacher and I absorbed her courses.) My school waived my administrative duty (usually something like study hall, breakfast, or lunch supervision) and I got paid an extra 20% of my salary, but it was horrible.

This year, I'm thrilled to be down to 4 preps. It's all relative, I guess. 

OMG. You must be a saint!

[artgirl823]

Aug 14, 2017 17:33:24 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Aug 14, 2017 14:48:02 GMT -5 artgirl823 said:

I teach 7-12th grade art. Theoretically, we're supposed to teach 5 42-minute periods a day, and have no more than 3 preps (distinct courses to plan for). Last year, I taught 7 classes a day and had 7 preps. (A part-time, first year teacher quit two weeks into the school year, and another teacher and I absorbed her courses.) My school waived my administrative duty (usually something like study hall, breakfast, or lunch supervision) and I got paid an extra 20% of my salary, but it was horrible.

This year, I'm thrilled to be down to 4 preps. It's all relative, I guess. 

OMG. You must be a saint!

It wasn't as bad as I anticipated it to be, mostly because my administrators knew I had this impossibly demanding schedule and were cool with me teaching those classes and not doing anything else. So I didn't moderate my usual clubs, made sure to block off my lunch for myself (instead of letting kids work in my room), etc. It got me through the year, but really, the kids were the ones who lost out (like always).

[mmp]

Eighty-five minute block schedule, I teach three of four. Three different preps, but that's by choice. I prefer it that way because schedule interruptions don't make one class longer than the other, I forget what I say in one class and don't say in the other, don't have to make multiple versions of tests from class to class, don't have one day that's either all teaching, or all testing and grading, don't have to worry if one class gets ahead of the other etc.