Big ideas/little ideas

Big ideas:

• Teamwork
• Literature circles
• Effective research
• Cross-curricular writing portfolios (which also include spoken or visual presentations)
• Communication as a tool for self-fulfillment, self-expression, self-reflection, and self-improvement
• Communication as a tool for connecting and creating individuals and communities

Little ideas:

• Non-academic vocabulary (50-cent words)
• Grammar lessons
• Responding to teacher-generated questions
• Right and wrong answers in literature

I'm not saying that what I've labeled as "little ideas" are unimportant.  But I think they should build towards the big ideas.  The problem is that I spend all of my time thinking big ideas and acting little ideas.