Starting off the year with epics is a difficult task. Each year, my SOPH LA students must start the class by reading excerpts from at least 4 different ancient epics. If you have studied literature at all, you know what a challenge it can be just to keep the names of the characters straight! I do what I can to make it easier for my students to comprehend these complex works. That might include using puppets or cut outs to differentiate between characters, play acting what is happening, using voices to read dialogue aloud, drawing pictures on the board, or stopping frequently to explain events or words.
Some of the students are champs and, even though these texts may be difficult, stay actively engaged with my reading and the material. There are those, however, who shut down when something is beyond their comprehension, and use the difficulty of the text as an excuse to fall asleep. "I was paying attention, but I didn't understand it," they say. So instead of trying to understand it, or waiting for a moment of clarity, you give up and fall asleep??? Not only is that extremely lazy, it's also very rude. Here I am, giving it all I've got to try to help you understand something new, and you lay your head down and fall asleep. Good job.
Last week in SOPH LA, we read from the Mahabarata, the chapter about King Sibi. He is a righteous king who does everything he can to protect a dove, that has landed in his lap, from being eaten by a pushy hawk. The hawk tries everything he can to convince Sibi to give him the dove, but Sibi does not waver. Instead, Sibi offers his own flesh, equal to the weight of the dove. At the end of the story, we learn that in order to equal the weight of the dove, Sibi must give his whole self because no life is worth more than another. Good lesson right? Before we began reading, I gave the students a synopsis of the story using paper cut-outs of the characters. This got their attention, and they were interested in hearing more. As we read, the students understood the story pretty well. I stopped at various points to explain the plot, dialogue, or difficult words. Plus, they enjoyed my dramatic reading of the text. :)
This week, we read about "Sundiata" from The Epic of Mali. This one is about a boy who is born with deformities and handicaps, but is destined to be a glorious king for his people. It's a story about overcoming adversity to proove everyone wrong who doubted you. My second period is my smallest class (only 7 students), and as I read "Sundiata" aloud, one of the students fell asleep, another barely kept her eyes open, 4 had their heads down, and one was copying notes that she'd missed the previous day. There were only 2 students who were paying full attention and following along. It was so aggrivating! I told them that they should feel lucky to have a teacher who would spend so much time trying to make sure they understood such a difficult text. Of course, they tried to say, "Miss, we were paying attention!" I didn't want to hear it. I told them to work on their review guides while I wrote a detention slip for J__W___, who was sleeping. I don't care how tired you are...if there is a teacher in the room, you should be ashamed to even put your head down on the desk! I never did such a thing when I was in school! Luckily, it was a different story with my 6th period. They enjoyed listening to the story, followed along very well, and even asked questions to improve their own comprehension. What a difference!
I've found that giving my students a preview of what the story is about really does make them curious enough to want to hear more. I try to relate the preview to them as much as I can. For instance, in describing "Sundiata," I told them about the prophesy, the King who marries and ugly woman, the handicapped son, the jealous other wives of the king, the insultes, etc. I built it up, and told them that it was very much like a telenovela/soap opera. They immediately understood that the story would be filled with drama, and they wanted to know more!
Speaking of drama, my JR LA students moved on to the Puritans these past couple of weeks. First, we read two Puritan poems, and discussed the beliefs, morals, and culture of Puritans. Then, I showed them a slide show (another one that I'm proud of!) of the first Puritans to arrive in the New World, what it took for them to settle into their new lives, the growth of the colonies, then the witch trials and the Great Awakening. The students enjoyed seeing pictures of the Puritans and asked a lot of questions about them. Once we got to the witch trials, they were all excited. These past couple of days, we've been working on some pre-reading activities to get them thinking about the themes and conflicts in The Crucible. They've been writing and talking about issues like adultery, age limits in relationships, religious intollerance, forgiveness, etc. It's been an interesting concersation! Tomorrow, we'll read a synopsis of the play and discuss all of the main characters. Then, we'll read an even more succinct synopsis to make sure they have all of the main plot points in mind. After this, we'll begin reading the play! We probably won't have time to read the whole play, so we'll read enough to get the idea of the conflicts that occur in the story and then watch the film. The film version with Winona Ryder and Daniel Day Lewis really is fantastic. It's my favorite "film I'm allowed to show in school." :)
I hope the read alouds for it go well...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Floods and Travel Narratives
Last Friday, my Soph LA classes read a selection from the Bible (included in their textbooks) to compare to the "Story of the Flood" from The Epic of Gilgamesh. Many of them had already made the connection between Utnapishtim's story and Noah's story. So, as they read, they took notes on their graphic organizer table about the details of differences between these two ancient tales. Then, on Monday, I handed out a graphic organizer to help them organize their ideas for a compare and contrast essay. They used the table from the previous week to consider similarities and differences and also rewrote 3-4 particular details for each story that they thought they'd like to focus on in their body paragraphs.
On Tuesday, I told them exactly how to organize their essay and what to include in each paragraph: Intro - Hook, Background (Similarities), Thesis (3-part w/ differences); 3 Body Paragraphs - Topic Sentence (one difference each), Concrete Details from text, Commentary/Analysis, Transition sentence; Conclusion - Thesis Restatement, Summary of Main Points, and Final Thoughts. Then, I showed them an example of what a good compare-contrast essay looks like. Afterward, they had about 35 minutes to get started on their own essays. Many of them wrote at least an introduction, and some had one or two body paragraphs written. Most of them struggled to get started. I think this is normal for many students, so I don't mind if they take a while to think things through. Sometimes, if they can't get started right away, they get distracted from their task and start talking to their neighbors (thereby distracting THEM from their assignment), so I am always careful to circulate around the desks to keep a constant check of each student's progress. At the end of class, I told them to have their rough drafts done by the time they get to class the next day.
One cool moment: one of my lowest performing students stared at the assignment for a few minutes, and then said, "Miss, you should give us that paper that you gave us before to organize our essay."
"Which one, C_____?"
"You know, the one with the boxes and lines for each paragraph?"
"Oh yes! Would you like one of those?"
"Yeah. It helps me."
:)
Today, most students had their rough drafts on their desks when class began. Before I spend my time reading their work, though, I wanted to give them plenty of opportunity to self-correct. So, I put another example up on the overhead projector so they could see an "A" paper and compare their own to the example. I told them point blank: "If your paper does not look this good, you probably need to work on it a lot more." In addition to this, I also passed out a handout on a revision technique called ARMS: Add (what information should you add to benefit your reader?), Remove (what should you remove to improve the flow of your essay?), Move (can you improve the organization of your essay by moving words, sentences, or paragraphs?), Substitute (are there words, phrases, or sentences that could be improved by substituting better versions?). Each student had to read through his or her own essay and consider the ARMS, then pass it to a neighbor so they could consider the ARMS. Whatever they found that needed improvement, they had to work on it in class or as homework. They must turn in their rough drafts tomorrow for me to edit. I'll give these back to the students on Friday so they can work on their final drafts and bring them to me on Monday.
With my Jr LA classes, I've been teaching early colonization and travel narratives. We're a little behind the other classes (big surprise!), so I put together a slide show to present the 3 main types of travel narratives in the unit. First, there is the slave narrative: an excerpt from Equiano's narrative. Then, there is the journal: an excerpt from Columbus's notes on what he saw during his first voyage to America. Finally, there are narrative accounts: one excerpt from John Smith's stories of what happened at Jamestown, and the other by William Bradford about what happened at Plymouth in their first years. To get the students more interested in these people, I used photos and interesting facts about their lives to which the students could relate. It was great! They were asking questions, making comments, and telling what they already learned about the people or places in their World History class. It was a lot of fun, and it only took me a couple of hours to put together!
We started reading William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantations afterwards, and I gave them a handout of comprehension questions to answer as we read. We've only read about half of it, and I'm already questioning whether this is the best selection for them to read. The language is pretty complicated, so they get frustrated quickly. I might do Columbus's and John Smith's excerpts next year instead....
After we finish with the travel narratives, we'll being Puritan poetry and The Crucible, which is always very exciting for me. :)
On Tuesday, I told them exactly how to organize their essay and what to include in each paragraph: Intro - Hook, Background (Similarities), Thesis (3-part w/ differences); 3 Body Paragraphs - Topic Sentence (one difference each), Concrete Details from text, Commentary/Analysis, Transition sentence; Conclusion - Thesis Restatement, Summary of Main Points, and Final Thoughts. Then, I showed them an example of what a good compare-contrast essay looks like. Afterward, they had about 35 minutes to get started on their own essays. Many of them wrote at least an introduction, and some had one or two body paragraphs written. Most of them struggled to get started. I think this is normal for many students, so I don't mind if they take a while to think things through. Sometimes, if they can't get started right away, they get distracted from their task and start talking to their neighbors (thereby distracting THEM from their assignment), so I am always careful to circulate around the desks to keep a constant check of each student's progress. At the end of class, I told them to have their rough drafts done by the time they get to class the next day.
One cool moment: one of my lowest performing students stared at the assignment for a few minutes, and then said, "Miss, you should give us that paper that you gave us before to organize our essay."
"Which one, C_____?"
"You know, the one with the boxes and lines for each paragraph?"
"Oh yes! Would you like one of those?"
"Yeah. It helps me."
:)
Today, most students had their rough drafts on their desks when class began. Before I spend my time reading their work, though, I wanted to give them plenty of opportunity to self-correct. So, I put another example up on the overhead projector so they could see an "A" paper and compare their own to the example. I told them point blank: "If your paper does not look this good, you probably need to work on it a lot more." In addition to this, I also passed out a handout on a revision technique called ARMS: Add (what information should you add to benefit your reader?), Remove (what should you remove to improve the flow of your essay?), Move (can you improve the organization of your essay by moving words, sentences, or paragraphs?), Substitute (are there words, phrases, or sentences that could be improved by substituting better versions?). Each student had to read through his or her own essay and consider the ARMS, then pass it to a neighbor so they could consider the ARMS. Whatever they found that needed improvement, they had to work on it in class or as homework. They must turn in their rough drafts tomorrow for me to edit. I'll give these back to the students on Friday so they can work on their final drafts and bring them to me on Monday.
With my Jr LA classes, I've been teaching early colonization and travel narratives. We're a little behind the other classes (big surprise!), so I put together a slide show to present the 3 main types of travel narratives in the unit. First, there is the slave narrative: an excerpt from Equiano's narrative. Then, there is the journal: an excerpt from Columbus's notes on what he saw during his first voyage to America. Finally, there are narrative accounts: one excerpt from John Smith's stories of what happened at Jamestown, and the other by William Bradford about what happened at Plymouth in their first years. To get the students more interested in these people, I used photos and interesting facts about their lives to which the students could relate. It was great! They were asking questions, making comments, and telling what they already learned about the people or places in their World History class. It was a lot of fun, and it only took me a couple of hours to put together!
We started reading William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantations afterwards, and I gave them a handout of comprehension questions to answer as we read. We've only read about half of it, and I'm already questioning whether this is the best selection for them to read. The language is pretty complicated, so they get frustrated quickly. I might do Columbus's and John Smith's excerpts next year instead....
After we finish with the travel narratives, we'll being Puritan poetry and The Crucible, which is always very exciting for me. :)
Quote of the Day:
"Miss, what are those living-skin thingies that Utnapishtim and Noah took in their boats?"
"Living-skin thingies?"
"Yeah, they took their families and..."
"Animals?"
"Yeah! Animals! ...I'm sorry, Miss. I don't know what I was thinking. Living-skin thingies! What does that mean???"
"I don't know, but it sounds pretty scary to me."
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Gilgamesh and Native Americans
My language arts classes have moved on from their research projects to literature study. We have begun The Epic of Gilgamesh in Soph LA (world lit), and are studying Native American origin myths in Jr LA (American lit).
Teaching Gilgamesh--or any lengthy work--to ESOL students is a challenge. Their brains can only handle so many new words at once, and their attention span dwindles after about 2 pages of reading (on a good day). I knew going into this year that I wanted to shorten our study of Gilgamesh. The textbook gives us adapted versions of "The Battle with Humbaba," "The Death of Enkidu," "The Story of the Flood," and "The Return." Since we basically teach Gilgamesh to compare and contrast it to the story of Noah and the flood from the Bible and study archetype and archetypal setting, I've limited our reading to "The Story of the Flood" and "The Return." To give the students necessary background on Gilgamesh as a king and the parts of the story we didn't read, I put together a beautiful slide show in which I condensed the information and included pictures scanned from the illustrated trilogy of Gilgamesh for young readers (see links below). Also, remembering that my students have problems keeping the plot and character names straight, I included an overview of what happens in the two parts of the story that we would read together. I showed the slide show in class yesterday, and the students loved listening to it. If felt like story time in the library! :) Some of the students asked questions about the characters or plot, and they all seemed to have a general understanding of what to expect. After the slide show, we read "The Story of the Flood" together. Many of the students immediately made the connection of similarities between this flood and Noah's flood.
Today, in Soph LA, we read "The Return" together, and then students completed a table asks them to recall details about "The Story of the Flood." These details are similar to those stated in the story of Noah and the flood, so they will complete the table tomorrow after we read the excerpt from the Bible. When the table is complete, they should clearly see how the details of the stories are similar, but not exactly the same. I did notice that there were some changes to the handout that I should have made last year when I realized there was a way to make my expectations clearer. I neglected to make the changes, though. Note to self: make changes on worksheets or handouts as soon as you notice the need for correction. You won't remember to make those changes next year!
In my Jr LA class, the origin myths we're reading are "The Earth on Turtle's Back," and "When Grizzlies Walked Upright." These stories are easy to understand, and the students think it's so strange how people used to explain the natural phenomena of this world. Some of them thought the stories were cute, some thought they were funny. Since I knew they understood the stories themselves, I wanted the students to practice their organization and linear detail. They were allowed to work in small groups (3), with a partner, or as an individual; and they had to storyboard on of the origin myths we read the day before. They were limited to 8 squares, and could only use pictures. Most students have difficulty choosing which scenes to include on their storyboard. Students, overall, have very poor organization skills. This is just another area where that becomes evident. They have difficulty compartmentalizing information, too. When I first assigned the activity, the students thought it was a fun "kindergarten" activity. They soon discovered otherwise. :)
Quote of the Day:
During popcorn reading in class, a student skipped a line during her read aloud.
J_____, a short-tempered, pushy Mexican student yelled at the reader: "C____, you skipped a line, man!"
"First of all, I'm a girl not a man," she retorted in her assertive Domincan accent. "Secondly, I'm human, OK? You don't have to jump all over me for my mistakes. Now be quiet so I can read!"
Teaching Gilgamesh--or any lengthy work--to ESOL students is a challenge. Their brains can only handle so many new words at once, and their attention span dwindles after about 2 pages of reading (on a good day). I knew going into this year that I wanted to shorten our study of Gilgamesh. The textbook gives us adapted versions of "The Battle with Humbaba," "The Death of Enkidu," "The Story of the Flood," and "The Return." Since we basically teach Gilgamesh to compare and contrast it to the story of Noah and the flood from the Bible and study archetype and archetypal setting, I've limited our reading to "The Story of the Flood" and "The Return." To give the students necessary background on Gilgamesh as a king and the parts of the story we didn't read, I put together a beautiful slide show in which I condensed the information and included pictures scanned from the illustrated trilogy of Gilgamesh for young readers (see links below). Also, remembering that my students have problems keeping the plot and character names straight, I included an overview of what happens in the two parts of the story that we would read together. I showed the slide show in class yesterday, and the students loved listening to it. If felt like story time in the library! :) Some of the students asked questions about the characters or plot, and they all seemed to have a general understanding of what to expect. After the slide show, we read "The Story of the Flood" together. Many of the students immediately made the connection of similarities between this flood and Noah's flood.
Today, in Soph LA, we read "The Return" together, and then students completed a table asks them to recall details about "The Story of the Flood." These details are similar to those stated in the story of Noah and the flood, so they will complete the table tomorrow after we read the excerpt from the Bible. When the table is complete, they should clearly see how the details of the stories are similar, but not exactly the same. I did notice that there were some changes to the handout that I should have made last year when I realized there was a way to make my expectations clearer. I neglected to make the changes, though. Note to self: make changes on worksheets or handouts as soon as you notice the need for correction. You won't remember to make those changes next year!
In my Jr LA class, the origin myths we're reading are "The Earth on Turtle's Back," and "When Grizzlies Walked Upright." These stories are easy to understand, and the students think it's so strange how people used to explain the natural phenomena of this world. Some of them thought the stories were cute, some thought they were funny. Since I knew they understood the stories themselves, I wanted the students to practice their organization and linear detail. They were allowed to work in small groups (3), with a partner, or as an individual; and they had to storyboard on of the origin myths we read the day before. They were limited to 8 squares, and could only use pictures. Most students have difficulty choosing which scenes to include on their storyboard. Students, overall, have very poor organization skills. This is just another area where that becomes evident. They have difficulty compartmentalizing information, too. When I first assigned the activity, the students thought it was a fun "kindergarten" activity. They soon discovered otherwise. :)
Quote of the Day:
During popcorn reading in class, a student skipped a line during her read aloud.
J_____, a short-tempered, pushy Mexican student yelled at the reader: "C____, you skipped a line, man!"
"First of all, I'm a girl not a man," she retorted in her assertive Domincan accent. "Secondly, I'm human, OK? You don't have to jump all over me for my mistakes. Now be quiet so I can read!"
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Presentation Day
Some were better than others, but I was proud of most of my students and their presentations today. Most of them dressed up for the occasion (despite the pouring rain!), and many of them had clearly practiced.
Of course, there were some let downs. Students who had not been keeping up with their work did not pull magic rabbits out of their hats and miraculously have something ready to present. There were some stand-outs, though: students who did surprisingly well for their first public presentation.
The day was marred, though, by an incident in 3rd period. One of my sweetest, most polite male students, T_____, received a letter from the front office last week saying that they didn't have his address on record. T_____ told me that his family had moved and that he was supposed to be at a different school, but since he only had 8 more months to go, he wanted to stay at CHHS and graduate with his friends. He's been worried about it ever since. Today, he was not in class when it was time for him to present with his group. His 2 group mates began without him, and just as A_____ said, "My friend, T_____ could not be here today, so we are just going to explain his slides to you," T______ walked through the door. We were all happy to see him and everyone called out his name.
"T____!" I said, "You have perfect timing! Your group was just about to read your slides to us."
"Oh," he looked at the class, then back at me. Something was wrong. T_____'s mother poked her head through the door, and I knew what was going on. There's only one reason an ESOL parent comes to school in the middle of the day: withdrawl. I looked at T_____, and he turned to his group mates. "Guys, I can't present. I have to go to a new school."
The class gasped in unison. We all love T_____. He's one of the most jovial people I've ever met. "What? Why?" They all wanted an explanation.
"Class," I tried to explain, "T_____has moved to another district, so he has to go to the school there." I started tearing up (which I couldn't believe).
I crossed the room and gave T______'s mother a hug. "We had to move," she said in a thick Vietnamese accent. "I know." I told her.
T_____ was becoming emotional, which is absolutely not allowed for a young man in front of a crowd (grin), so he walked toward me and the door. I gave him a hug and said goodbye.
Many times, when I say goodbye to a student, it's forever. They don't keep email addresses, they don't write for letters of recommendation, they don't come back to visit. My students live such transient existences that it's difficult for them to stay in touch with anyone. ... I don't think I'll see or hear from T____ again, which makes me sad. That's one of the worst parts of my job.
One of the coolest parts of my job, though, is that I am the only teacher at CHHS who teaches SOPH LA and JR LA for ESOL students. I have these students for 2 years. We are a small unit. We are very like a family. Everyone knows everyone, and we all try to get along. There is comfort in that, and the students rely on that routine and consistency at school. It is hard, though, when there is a big change, and one of our family members is no longer there. You can feel that the classroom has a different dynamic...even when one person is absent.
Anyhow...now that presentations are done, I need to find some way to transition my students over to literature studies. I think I'll do a textbook exploration activity tomorrow to introduce them to the different parts of the text. They need to know how to use a Table of Contents, a Glossary, and an Index. Then, I'll have to introduce Native American Lit for my JR LA class and Gilgamesh (and the epic cycle) to my SOPH LA class.
...I think we're having pizza tonight. That is way too much to get done to cook dinner, too. LOL
I need to use time this weekend to plan ahead for the next 2 weeks. I'm getting bad again about doing my planning the night before, and that just stresses me out.
The main speaker below is one of my Korean students. She was a good sport about us pointing out her pronunciation error, and said that her bf had even pointed it out to her. She said she was just too nervous to concentrate on fixing it for us. :)
Quote of the Day:
Presenter S____: "Good morning. Today we're going to talk about bling. Do you know what bling is?"
Audience Member with a Spanish accent: "Little sparkly things?"
Presenter S____: "No. Bling is when you make someone feel bad about themselves because of how they dress, look, act, or because of who they hang out with. There are many factors that would cause someone to bully someone else. We are going to talk about those factors, how to stop it, and where to go for help is someone is bling you."
Of course, there were some let downs. Students who had not been keeping up with their work did not pull magic rabbits out of their hats and miraculously have something ready to present. There were some stand-outs, though: students who did surprisingly well for their first public presentation.
The day was marred, though, by an incident in 3rd period. One of my sweetest, most polite male students, T_____, received a letter from the front office last week saying that they didn't have his address on record. T_____ told me that his family had moved and that he was supposed to be at a different school, but since he only had 8 more months to go, he wanted to stay at CHHS and graduate with his friends. He's been worried about it ever since. Today, he was not in class when it was time for him to present with his group. His 2 group mates began without him, and just as A_____ said, "My friend, T_____ could not be here today, so we are just going to explain his slides to you," T______ walked through the door. We were all happy to see him and everyone called out his name.
"T____!" I said, "You have perfect timing! Your group was just about to read your slides to us."
"Oh," he looked at the class, then back at me. Something was wrong. T_____'s mother poked her head through the door, and I knew what was going on. There's only one reason an ESOL parent comes to school in the middle of the day: withdrawl. I looked at T_____, and he turned to his group mates. "Guys, I can't present. I have to go to a new school."
The class gasped in unison. We all love T_____. He's one of the most jovial people I've ever met. "What? Why?" They all wanted an explanation.
"Class," I tried to explain, "T_____has moved to another district, so he has to go to the school there." I started tearing up (which I couldn't believe).
I crossed the room and gave T______'s mother a hug. "We had to move," she said in a thick Vietnamese accent. "I know." I told her.
T_____ was becoming emotional, which is absolutely not allowed for a young man in front of a crowd (grin), so he walked toward me and the door. I gave him a hug and said goodbye.
Many times, when I say goodbye to a student, it's forever. They don't keep email addresses, they don't write for letters of recommendation, they don't come back to visit. My students live such transient existences that it's difficult for them to stay in touch with anyone. ... I don't think I'll see or hear from T____ again, which makes me sad. That's one of the worst parts of my job.
One of the coolest parts of my job, though, is that I am the only teacher at CHHS who teaches SOPH LA and JR LA for ESOL students. I have these students for 2 years. We are a small unit. We are very like a family. Everyone knows everyone, and we all try to get along. There is comfort in that, and the students rely on that routine and consistency at school. It is hard, though, when there is a big change, and one of our family members is no longer there. You can feel that the classroom has a different dynamic...even when one person is absent.
Anyhow...now that presentations are done, I need to find some way to transition my students over to literature studies. I think I'll do a textbook exploration activity tomorrow to introduce them to the different parts of the text. They need to know how to use a Table of Contents, a Glossary, and an Index. Then, I'll have to introduce Native American Lit for my JR LA class and Gilgamesh (and the epic cycle) to my SOPH LA class.
...I think we're having pizza tonight. That is way too much to get done to cook dinner, too. LOL
I need to use time this weekend to plan ahead for the next 2 weeks. I'm getting bad again about doing my planning the night before, and that just stresses me out.
The main speaker below is one of my Korean students. She was a good sport about us pointing out her pronunciation error, and said that her bf had even pointed it out to her. She said she was just too nervous to concentrate on fixing it for us. :)
Quote of the Day:
Presenter S____: "Good morning. Today we're going to talk about bling. Do you know what bling is?"
Audience Member with a Spanish accent: "Little sparkly things?"
Presenter S____: "No. Bling is when you make someone feel bad about themselves because of how they dress, look, act, or because of who they hang out with. There are many factors that would cause someone to bully someone else. We are going to talk about those factors, how to stop it, and where to go for help is someone is bling you."
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Day Before...
Tomorrow is the big day...Presentation Day! My students are both excited and nervous. They've been working so hard to prepare, but have not practiced enough, and they know it! :)
Today, I gave them one more day in class to practice with each other. They had to time each other as they practiced their speaking and using their PPT slides effectively.
To begin class, I showed a clip from one of Apple's keynote presentations. This way, the students could see what a top-notch presentation should look like and how minimal information on PPT slides is used to help keep the audience up with what the speaker is saying. Many of them still have too much information on their slides, but hopefully they'll improve next time. (I am definitely going to make them do more presentations this year!) As they watched the clip, I pointed out the use of slides, body language, clearly spoken words, speaking rather than reading information, and other successful presentation skills. The students enjoyed watching the clip and were inspired to practice their own presentations!
They all split up into their groups, or went their own way if they are presenting solo. They made notes on what they would each say during their presentations, created note cards, timed each other, ran through their lines, critiqued each other, and asked me and each other questions. If the student was working independently, they practiced their lines and had me or someone else time them as they gave their presentation a test run.
Here are some photos of the day's happenings:
(BTW, in these photos alone, 10 countries are represented: France, Rwanda, Korea, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Nepal, Cuba, India, Mexico, and the USA!)
Quote of the Day:
"Oh, Miss, you need that fixed? Lemme try. I have Asian technology skills."
"Asian technology skills?"
"Yeah, can fix anything. Watch." ... (he skillfully replaces the fabric back piece on my director's chair)
"See, Asian technology."
"What does that have to do with technology?"
"I'm Asian. I fix it. Technology."
"I think you are confused...."
Today, I gave them one more day in class to practice with each other. They had to time each other as they practiced their speaking and using their PPT slides effectively.
To begin class, I showed a clip from one of Apple's keynote presentations. This way, the students could see what a top-notch presentation should look like and how minimal information on PPT slides is used to help keep the audience up with what the speaker is saying. Many of them still have too much information on their slides, but hopefully they'll improve next time. (I am definitely going to make them do more presentations this year!) As they watched the clip, I pointed out the use of slides, body language, clearly spoken words, speaking rather than reading information, and other successful presentation skills. The students enjoyed watching the clip and were inspired to practice their own presentations!
They all split up into their groups, or went their own way if they are presenting solo. They made notes on what they would each say during their presentations, created note cards, timed each other, ran through their lines, critiqued each other, and asked me and each other questions. If the student was working independently, they practiced their lines and had me or someone else time them as they gave their presentation a test run.
Here are some photos of the day's happenings:
(BTW, in these photos alone, 10 countries are represented: France, Rwanda, Korea, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Nepal, Cuba, India, Mexico, and the USA!)
Quote of the Day:
"Oh, Miss, you need that fixed? Lemme try. I have Asian technology skills."
"Asian technology skills?"
"Yeah, can fix anything. Watch." ... (he skillfully replaces the fabric back piece on my director's chair)
"See, Asian technology."
"What does that have to do with technology?"
"I'm Asian. I fix it. Technology."
"I think you are confused...."
Monday, September 14, 2009
Practice, Practice, Practice!
On Friday, September 11th, I was already in a touchy mood, so I didn't want to do anything that required too much effort on my part. That may sound bad, buy you know that we all have those days. I still wanted to pack my students' brains full of information, though! I was thinking about what I wrote in my previous post...about helping the students understand how to prepare for their presentation, and the difference between a good and bad presentation.
I decided that I should first assess how much they already knew. Some of them have already taken Business Essentials as an elective, and have had to learn about presentation skills. So, I had them do a Think-Pair-Share to brainstorm ideas of what it takes to give a successful presentation. Here's the list that my 6th period came up with:
After the brainstorming session, I passed out copies of these two articles:
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/aug2009/sb20090825_379576.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_2161539_give-presentation-class.html
The first article takes a humorous approach to teaching presentation skills. The author gives instructions on how to give a lousy presentation. So, the students figured that everything the author says to do, they should do the opposite. The students took turns reading the points out loud, and we discussed what would be the correct action to take. This brought up quite a few questions! Sometimes, the students were able to answer their peers' questions. Other times, I answered.
The second article highlights some was to prepare for giving a presentation. This article stresses the importance of practicing. I told the students what my Public Speaking professor told his classes in college: "Practice, practice, practice until you think you've got it. Then, practice once more to be sure." This helped drive the point home that I have high expectations of their performance on Wednesday. Dressing the part (they have to dress business-casual) does not make you automatically successful. You must practice and work to be your best.
Today, Monday, they were all supposed to turn in their PowerPoint presentations. Many of them were ready, but a few students/groups needed more time. I told them they had to get the slide show to be by the end of the day (3PM) or it would be late with points counted off. For those who were ready, I printed a handout of their show, and asked them to make brief notations beside each slide to tell me who would be speaking during that slide and what they would say.
Before all of that, the students had to take their MLA Citations Quiz today. There was a wide range of scores, but only a handful of students failed. This shows me that they just need time to soak in the information, and they need to see it repeatedly. In the past, I've tried to teach MLA at the end of the year within a very limited time frame, and the students just don't get it. This year, as this quiz has shown me, they have understood much better.
I was reminded today that our first Benchmark Exam is on October 7th. By this date (according to the county pacing guide), my JR LA students should have studied Native American Lit, Exploration Narratives (ex: John Smith), Equiano, The Crucible, and Puritan Poetry. My SOPH LA students should have studied Gilgamesh, the Bible, and at least 2 other epics. ...That is not going to happen. I gave as much time as my students needed to feel confident in the research process and essay writing. I know that they can do this. I feel confident in sending them to take the GHSGWT at the end of Sept. (with a little more practice in persuasive writing, of course). Now that I know they can organize their ideas, and write strong paragraphs, we can move on to the literature. What is the point of teaching, if the students don't have time to learn?
I guess I better get planning. We have a lot to do in the next couple of weeks! :)
I decided that I should first assess how much they already knew. Some of them have already taken Business Essentials as an elective, and have had to learn about presentation skills. So, I had them do a Think-Pair-Share to brainstorm ideas of what it takes to give a successful presentation. Here's the list that my 6th period came up with:
After the brainstorming session, I passed out copies of these two articles:
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/aug2009/sb20090825_379576.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_2161539_give-presentation-class.html
The first article takes a humorous approach to teaching presentation skills. The author gives instructions on how to give a lousy presentation. So, the students figured that everything the author says to do, they should do the opposite. The students took turns reading the points out loud, and we discussed what would be the correct action to take. This brought up quite a few questions! Sometimes, the students were able to answer their peers' questions. Other times, I answered.
The second article highlights some was to prepare for giving a presentation. This article stresses the importance of practicing. I told the students what my Public Speaking professor told his classes in college: "Practice, practice, practice until you think you've got it. Then, practice once more to be sure." This helped drive the point home that I have high expectations of their performance on Wednesday. Dressing the part (they have to dress business-casual) does not make you automatically successful. You must practice and work to be your best.
Today, Monday, they were all supposed to turn in their PowerPoint presentations. Many of them were ready, but a few students/groups needed more time. I told them they had to get the slide show to be by the end of the day (3PM) or it would be late with points counted off. For those who were ready, I printed a handout of their show, and asked them to make brief notations beside each slide to tell me who would be speaking during that slide and what they would say.
Before all of that, the students had to take their MLA Citations Quiz today. There was a wide range of scores, but only a handful of students failed. This shows me that they just need time to soak in the information, and they need to see it repeatedly. In the past, I've tried to teach MLA at the end of the year within a very limited time frame, and the students just don't get it. This year, as this quiz has shown me, they have understood much better.
I was reminded today that our first Benchmark Exam is on October 7th. By this date (according to the county pacing guide), my JR LA students should have studied Native American Lit, Exploration Narratives (ex: John Smith), Equiano, The Crucible, and Puritan Poetry. My SOPH LA students should have studied Gilgamesh, the Bible, and at least 2 other epics. ...That is not going to happen. I gave as much time as my students needed to feel confident in the research process and essay writing. I know that they can do this. I feel confident in sending them to take the GHSGWT at the end of Sept. (with a little more practice in persuasive writing, of course). Now that I know they can organize their ideas, and write strong paragraphs, we can move on to the literature. What is the point of teaching, if the students don't have time to learn?
I guess I better get planning. We have a lot to do in the next couple of weeks! :)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Creating Presentations
Friday, the students began or continuted working on their PowerPoint presentations or finding and printing pictures for their posters. It was a good day, and everyone was engaged in their assignment. Some of the students chose to work individually on their presentation, and most of them chose to work in pairs or small groups. They understand that their presentation must be 4-5 minutes in length, and that they all have to participate in the production and presentation of the information.
On Monday, there was no school because of Labor Day. So, on Tuesday, we met in the trailer, and I brought brownies to share with everyone. In each class, somone asked, "Miss, why are we getting brownies today?" I told them, "You're getting brownies because I am so proud of each of you for working hard on your research projects." This made them very happy, and it did make them feel good about the work they've done. Before I gave them the brownies (while I still had their attention!), we did a quick review about citations. I wrote 3 citations on the board, leaving 6-8 mistakes in each of them. The students had to copy the citations onto their paper, and correct the mistakes. We worked together to correct them on the board. This was good because I saw that many of the students were still confused about when to used quotations or underline for titles.
Tuesday was a different story... it was a bad day. Many of the students were unfocused, were in a bad mood, or were just plain lazy. Today was their last day in the computer lab to work on their presentations. I was thinking about booking another day for them to be in the lab, but then I had second thoughts. No. If they still aren't finished after I've given them plenty of time to work, they'll need to finish on their own time. Yes! It was so liberating to set my mind on putting the responsibility on the student (where it should be!). I'm not going to give as many chances or be as sympathetic to students who don't get their work done. That just takes up too much of my time and energy, and makes them think it's OK to slack off.
Today was a much better day. For my LA classes, I gave my students an MLA Citations Review of 25 questions. There were different sections where students had to identify the correct citation, answer True/False questions about MLA format, fix incorrect citations, and label the parts of a citation. It was interesting to see how much they've learned from our research project. They had to complete the review quietly and independently first, and then we went over it as a class. I heard one student say to himself, "This is a good review." That made me happy. What I really liked, though, was when most students got a question incorrect, they wanted to know what the right answer was and WHY it was the right answer. I love that! To make sure I called on them randomly, I put all of their names on popsicle sticks, and picked the sticks out of a cup. It's so funny how quiet the room gets right before I pick a stick. Everyone waits to hear their name. :) It was a lot more fun than I planned.
Tomorrow, I want to start giving the students tips on how to give a professional presentations. I want to show them example cue cards, and show them how to used a PowerPoint slide show effectively as PART of the presentation. The focus, they need to understand, should be on the speaker and not the slide show. I'm not sure how best to convey this to them....
In my LDC IV classes, the students worked on a review of 9 sets of questions over Chapters 1-8 of Tuck Everlasting. I could tell which students had been paying attention, and which ones were clueless. One of my students, K____, actually fell asleep with his earphones in his ears during reading time on Monday! When I handed him the review, he just sat there and stared at it for about 15 minutes. When I noticed him, I told him it would be better to go back and read what he missed on Monday. Most of the students did pretty well in refering back to the book to find answers to the questions. I included the page numbers where they could find the answers, but they had to do the rest themselves.
On Monday, there was no school because of Labor Day. So, on Tuesday, we met in the trailer, and I brought brownies to share with everyone. In each class, somone asked, "Miss, why are we getting brownies today?" I told them, "You're getting brownies because I am so proud of each of you for working hard on your research projects." This made them very happy, and it did make them feel good about the work they've done. Before I gave them the brownies (while I still had their attention!), we did a quick review about citations. I wrote 3 citations on the board, leaving 6-8 mistakes in each of them. The students had to copy the citations onto their paper, and correct the mistakes. We worked together to correct them on the board. This was good because I saw that many of the students were still confused about when to used quotations or underline for titles.
Tuesday was a different story... it was a bad day. Many of the students were unfocused, were in a bad mood, or were just plain lazy. Today was their last day in the computer lab to work on their presentations. I was thinking about booking another day for them to be in the lab, but then I had second thoughts. No. If they still aren't finished after I've given them plenty of time to work, they'll need to finish on their own time. Yes! It was so liberating to set my mind on putting the responsibility on the student (where it should be!). I'm not going to give as many chances or be as sympathetic to students who don't get their work done. That just takes up too much of my time and energy, and makes them think it's OK to slack off.
Today was a much better day. For my LA classes, I gave my students an MLA Citations Review of 25 questions. There were different sections where students had to identify the correct citation, answer True/False questions about MLA format, fix incorrect citations, and label the parts of a citation. It was interesting to see how much they've learned from our research project. They had to complete the review quietly and independently first, and then we went over it as a class. I heard one student say to himself, "This is a good review." That made me happy. What I really liked, though, was when most students got a question incorrect, they wanted to know what the right answer was and WHY it was the right answer. I love that! To make sure I called on them randomly, I put all of their names on popsicle sticks, and picked the sticks out of a cup. It's so funny how quiet the room gets right before I pick a stick. Everyone waits to hear their name. :) It was a lot more fun than I planned.
Tomorrow, I want to start giving the students tips on how to give a professional presentations. I want to show them example cue cards, and show them how to used a PowerPoint slide show effectively as PART of the presentation. The focus, they need to understand, should be on the speaker and not the slide show. I'm not sure how best to convey this to them....
In my LDC IV classes, the students worked on a review of 9 sets of questions over Chapters 1-8 of Tuck Everlasting. I could tell which students had been paying attention, and which ones were clueless. One of my students, K____, actually fell asleep with his earphones in his ears during reading time on Monday! When I handed him the review, he just sat there and stared at it for about 15 minutes. When I noticed him, I told him it would be better to go back and read what he missed on Monday. Most of the students did pretty well in refering back to the book to find answers to the questions. I included the page numbers where they could find the answers, but they had to do the rest themselves.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Finishing up the Final Draft
Today was the last day that my LA students had to work on the final drafts of their papers. As they finished, I went around and had a "mini writing conference" with each of them like I used to in the Writing Center at GSU: one of us read the paper out loud, while we stopped to make changes to punctuation or word choice. We also discussed why we made those changes. This was a focus on the lower-order concerns of a paper. The higher-order concerns (organization, thesis statements, transitions and topic sentences, citations...) were already addressed in the students' outlines and rough drafts. So, once I came around and read a student's paper one last time on the computer screen, he or she had to print a final copy to turn in as part of the research packet due tomorrow.
In the research packet, the students must include:
Next week, my LA students will be working on their presentations of their research projects. We'll have some extra time, so I really would like to teach them how to present professionally. In other workds, teach them how to prepare note cards, practice their presentation so they don't have to read their note cards, and then present the information to the audience while keeping eye contact. For most students, a presentation is just reading the information from the PPT slides. I want to try to teach them to be better than that.
For my LDC students, today was Speaking Day, and they did some exercises so I could hear each student's pronunciation of different words and letters. I have some lists of minimal pairs (eat-it, neat-knit, beat-bit, etc.) that each pair of students practiced reading out loud to each other. They were able to ask me or each other how a word or words are pronounced. Then, each student stood in front of class and read their list of minimal pairs aloud. As they read, I made notes next to the words that were mispronounced.
After that, we went over the worksheet they completed yesterday on present perfect tense. I have all of their names written on popsicle sticks, and I chose a student at random. That student had to read aloud the next question and answer on the worksheet. If he or she got the answer wrong, I asked for volunteers to help. The students made corrections to their worksheets as we went through each question. Today in LDC IV, the students spoke and heard ONLY English for about 70% of the period. That is a good day. About 1/2 the class is Korean, and the other 1/2 is Hispanic, so as soon as they get the chance, they revert back to their native language (L1) to speak to each other. It's extremely hard to prevent this. I've not yet become as hard as some teachers who write their students up every time they say a word in their L1. Sometimes, teachers will deduct points from students daily grades for speaking in their L1. ...I'm just not that kind of teacher. I think there must be a better way. I think, if I give them activities and assignments that make them use English while they enjoy doing the work, that would be much more effective than punishing them for using their L1.
In the research packet, the students must include:
- KWL (complete the "L" first)
- All of the articles/websites used in essay
- Notecards
- Outline
- Both rough drafts
- Final draft
- Works cited page
Next week, my LA students will be working on their presentations of their research projects. We'll have some extra time, so I really would like to teach them how to present professionally. In other workds, teach them how to prepare note cards, practice their presentation so they don't have to read their note cards, and then present the information to the audience while keeping eye contact. For most students, a presentation is just reading the information from the PPT slides. I want to try to teach them to be better than that.
For my LDC students, today was Speaking Day, and they did some exercises so I could hear each student's pronunciation of different words and letters. I have some lists of minimal pairs (eat-it, neat-knit, beat-bit, etc.) that each pair of students practiced reading out loud to each other. They were able to ask me or each other how a word or words are pronounced. Then, each student stood in front of class and read their list of minimal pairs aloud. As they read, I made notes next to the words that were mispronounced.
After that, we went over the worksheet they completed yesterday on present perfect tense. I have all of their names written on popsicle sticks, and I chose a student at random. That student had to read aloud the next question and answer on the worksheet. If he or she got the answer wrong, I asked for volunteers to help. The students made corrections to their worksheets as we went through each question. Today in LDC IV, the students spoke and heard ONLY English for about 70% of the period. That is a good day. About 1/2 the class is Korean, and the other 1/2 is Hispanic, so as soon as they get the chance, they revert back to their native language (L1) to speak to each other. It's extremely hard to prevent this. I've not yet become as hard as some teachers who write their students up every time they say a word in their L1. Sometimes, teachers will deduct points from students daily grades for speaking in their L1. ...I'm just not that kind of teacher. I think there must be a better way. I think, if I give them activities and assignments that make them use English while they enjoy doing the work, that would be much more effective than punishing them for using their L1.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Putting It All Together
I told my language arts students on Monday how proud I am of them for working so hard on these research projects. I was flying high all weekend because most of them are up to date with all of the checkpoints in the process. I know that there are a combination of factors that are attributing to their success, but I really do think that doing this project at the beginning of the school year rather than the end has had a huge effect. Their minds aren't yet fatigued, I'm still energetic enough to bounce around and help each student, and we all still have patience enough to work through lapses in comprehension rather than just give up.
After I told them how pround I am of them, I also told them that THIS is the most difficult part: putting together the research with their own ideas to create an essay. If they give it a few days of hard work and focus, though, it will be over soon enough. This seemed to take off some of the pressure that overwhelmed them.
I read through their rough drafts Monday night, and many of them are still having problems with citing their sources. Either they cited nothing at all, or they did it incorrectly. I was careful to edit as much as I could to help them correct these mistakes (and others). I also showed them some examples on the board, and gave them a handout from our Media Center's website that shows correct MLA in-text citations. More of them seemed to understand after receiving the information in three more ways.
During class on Tuesday, I handed back the students' rough drafts (bleeding red from all of the comments I'd made), and instructed them to write a second rough draft, using my comments and corrections as a guide. I told them to go slowly--sentence by sentence--to make sure they corrected everything and made all necessary changes. This gave them the opportunity to improve and revise their work and ask me questions if needed. I used to hand back the rough draft, and say "OK, now use your rough draft and my comments to type your final draft." I found, however, that students often got hung up on making their corrections on their final draft. It was too much pressure or they knew they were almost done and didn't care as much...I don't know exactly. I do know that having them hand write their second rough draft made it a much more meaningful exercise to them. They were focused on improving, and that's what I wanted for them.
Today, Wednesday, we were in the computer lab so the students could type their final drafts. I'd already given them my example essay on teen dropouts in correct MLA format, so I told them to look at that to set up the format of their own papers. Most of them needed help with the header and double spacing, but then their fingers were flying around on the keyboards, typing their final drafts.
I am also practicing writing with my LDC IV students. I've introduced them to chunck paragraph writing, and it is going well! The first time was rough. Most of them didn't quite get it. Yesterday was much better, though! They turned in very nice paragraphs in response to two topics I gave them which were related to the chapters we'd read on Monday from Tuck Everlasting. Today is grammar day for them, and tomorrow is speaking day. I really would like to find some speaking activities that helps improve their pronunciation. I have a couple of Korean boys, and a couple of Hispanic girls who still don't pronounce their English words very well. I want to find some verbal exercises they could do here and at home to strengthen their pronunciation...sort of a Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle experiment. :)
Quote of the Day (Tuesday):
"S____, these paragraphs are awesome!"
"Thanks, Miss! Remember when I first wrote a paragraph for you and you said that it was horrible?"
"I didn't say 'horrible.'"
"You did! See?" (She shows me her paper with my red letters: "This is horrible!")
"...Oh."
"It's OK, Miss. I'd rather my teacher tells me my writing is horrible than to keep being dumb. Now I'm getting better!"
Quote of the Day (Wednesday):
A____ asked me: "Ms. Greene, if I type 'this situation damaged their reputation,' how do I spell reputation?"
I began, "R-"
"Oh wait," he said excitedly, "I just remembered how inside of my own brain. Thanks anyway."
After I told them how pround I am of them, I also told them that THIS is the most difficult part: putting together the research with their own ideas to create an essay. If they give it a few days of hard work and focus, though, it will be over soon enough. This seemed to take off some of the pressure that overwhelmed them.
I read through their rough drafts Monday night, and many of them are still having problems with citing their sources. Either they cited nothing at all, or they did it incorrectly. I was careful to edit as much as I could to help them correct these mistakes (and others). I also showed them some examples on the board, and gave them a handout from our Media Center's website that shows correct MLA in-text citations. More of them seemed to understand after receiving the information in three more ways.
During class on Tuesday, I handed back the students' rough drafts (bleeding red from all of the comments I'd made), and instructed them to write a second rough draft, using my comments and corrections as a guide. I told them to go slowly--sentence by sentence--to make sure they corrected everything and made all necessary changes. This gave them the opportunity to improve and revise their work and ask me questions if needed. I used to hand back the rough draft, and say "OK, now use your rough draft and my comments to type your final draft." I found, however, that students often got hung up on making their corrections on their final draft. It was too much pressure or they knew they were almost done and didn't care as much...I don't know exactly. I do know that having them hand write their second rough draft made it a much more meaningful exercise to them. They were focused on improving, and that's what I wanted for them.
Today, Wednesday, we were in the computer lab so the students could type their final drafts. I'd already given them my example essay on teen dropouts in correct MLA format, so I told them to look at that to set up the format of their own papers. Most of them needed help with the header and double spacing, but then their fingers were flying around on the keyboards, typing their final drafts.
I am also practicing writing with my LDC IV students. I've introduced them to chunck paragraph writing, and it is going well! The first time was rough. Most of them didn't quite get it. Yesterday was much better, though! They turned in very nice paragraphs in response to two topics I gave them which were related to the chapters we'd read on Monday from Tuck Everlasting. Today is grammar day for them, and tomorrow is speaking day. I really would like to find some speaking activities that helps improve their pronunciation. I have a couple of Korean boys, and a couple of Hispanic girls who still don't pronounce their English words very well. I want to find some verbal exercises they could do here and at home to strengthen their pronunciation...sort of a Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle experiment. :)
Quote of the Day (Tuesday):
"S____, these paragraphs are awesome!"
"Thanks, Miss! Remember when I first wrote a paragraph for you and you said that it was horrible?"
"I didn't say 'horrible.'"
"You did! See?" (She shows me her paper with my red letters: "This is horrible!")
"...Oh."
"It's OK, Miss. I'd rather my teacher tells me my writing is horrible than to keep being dumb. Now I'm getting better!"
Quote of the Day (Wednesday):
A____ asked me: "Ms. Greene, if I type 'this situation damaged their reputation,' how do I spell reputation?"
I began, "R-"
"Oh wait," he said excitedly, "I just remembered how inside of my own brain. Thanks anyway."
Friday, August 28, 2009
So Proud of Them
Yesterday, my LA students' outlines were due for their research essay. I gave them templates on Wednesday to fill in with their information, and told them it would be due on Thursday with no exceptions. I knew I was probably asking for disappointment, but I hope I'd scared them enough with the past couple of check points that they knew I was serious.
It turns out they DID know I was serious. Almost all of my students had their outlines to turn in, and it was a wonderful thing! I allowed them to talk or work quietly as I read through each outline, concentrating on the overall organization of their information (thesis, topic sentences, details). Some of them were outstanding, most of them were good, and a few needed a little more work to get good. But hey, as long as they turned it in, I was very proud of them and gave them no lower than an 85%. I had mostly 100%'s, though! I was actually very pleased and impressed with how well most of them were organized. Yes, they were using a template that I created for them, but it does take a certain amount of skill to insert the information into the template!
Today was a little easier since they'd worked so hard most of the week. I took them to the computer lab so they could start thinking about their PowerPoint Presentations or posters. Most of them are doing PPT presentations, but there are a few who prefer posters. They are already interested in each others' topics, and I saw them asking each other questions, sharing pictures and information, and telling their neighbors shocking facts about their topic.
One of my students, JC, did not have his outline yesterday. When I asked him about it, he said he'd work on it, but went right back to socializing with a couple of girls in the class. I scolded him a couple of times, so he put the work away, said he didn't understand it, and then pulled out his history homework. We had a couple of words, so I took him outside. I said the usual, "I know you can do better. You are already behind. Do you want to go to college? You seem like you don't care." At this, he turned his head to the side, and said quietly, "I do care." I'm going about this all wrong, I thought.
I told him that I care, too. I care about him, and I want him to succeed, to do his best. I asked him if he wanted extra help. "Yes, Miss." I asked if he could stay after school. "I don't know...." So, I told him I'd be there if he could. He didn't show up after school.
Today, JC came to class, looking downtrodden. "JC, do you have your outline?" "No, Miss, I didn't get it," he mumbled.
"Are you OK?" He really did not look happy. Was my class doing this to him?
"No." He shook his head. "I got in trouble again yesterday."
"Yesterday wasn't a good day for you, was it?"
Another shake of the head.
"Why don't you work on your outline right now then?"
"Miss, I can work on my PPT presentation now. Will you stay after school today?" (He's asking you for help!!!)
"Sure, JC, I'll be here until 3:00."
JC came for help this afternoon...along with 6 of his friends; 3 of whom are also in one of my classes and are doing the same project. When JC told them why he was there, they encircled him, and started giving him ideas for what to put on his outline. It was quite a sight to see...7 rough-and-tough, hyper, you'd think school is the last thing on their mind, Hispanic guys, crowding around their friend to help with a research outline. It warmed me to the core. I was so proud of all of them. After they left, I helped JC get his thoughts together. He left feeling organized and capable. The more I can empower these kids toward their own success, the better I do as a teacher.
Today was a good day. My students were engaged, they all jumped to give me their email addresses when I asked if they wanted me to email them their progress report, they were helping each other, they were nice to me, and they provided evidence of their learning. The perfect day in a teacher's week.
Quote of the Day:
"S____, did you have your Weaties this morning?"
"My weedies?"
"Yeah."
"...Are you asking me if I'm high?"
It turns out they DID know I was serious. Almost all of my students had their outlines to turn in, and it was a wonderful thing! I allowed them to talk or work quietly as I read through each outline, concentrating on the overall organization of their information (thesis, topic sentences, details). Some of them were outstanding, most of them were good, and a few needed a little more work to get good. But hey, as long as they turned it in, I was very proud of them and gave them no lower than an 85%. I had mostly 100%'s, though! I was actually very pleased and impressed with how well most of them were organized. Yes, they were using a template that I created for them, but it does take a certain amount of skill to insert the information into the template!
Today was a little easier since they'd worked so hard most of the week. I took them to the computer lab so they could start thinking about their PowerPoint Presentations or posters. Most of them are doing PPT presentations, but there are a few who prefer posters. They are already interested in each others' topics, and I saw them asking each other questions, sharing pictures and information, and telling their neighbors shocking facts about their topic.
One of my students, JC, did not have his outline yesterday. When I asked him about it, he said he'd work on it, but went right back to socializing with a couple of girls in the class. I scolded him a couple of times, so he put the work away, said he didn't understand it, and then pulled out his history homework. We had a couple of words, so I took him outside. I said the usual, "I know you can do better. You are already behind. Do you want to go to college? You seem like you don't care." At this, he turned his head to the side, and said quietly, "I do care." I'm going about this all wrong, I thought.
I told him that I care, too. I care about him, and I want him to succeed, to do his best. I asked him if he wanted extra help. "Yes, Miss." I asked if he could stay after school. "I don't know...." So, I told him I'd be there if he could. He didn't show up after school.
Today, JC came to class, looking downtrodden. "JC, do you have your outline?" "No, Miss, I didn't get it," he mumbled.
"Are you OK?" He really did not look happy. Was my class doing this to him?
"No." He shook his head. "I got in trouble again yesterday."
"Yesterday wasn't a good day for you, was it?"
Another shake of the head.
"Why don't you work on your outline right now then?"
"Miss, I can work on my PPT presentation now. Will you stay after school today?" (He's asking you for help!!!)
"Sure, JC, I'll be here until 3:00."
JC came for help this afternoon...along with 6 of his friends; 3 of whom are also in one of my classes and are doing the same project. When JC told them why he was there, they encircled him, and started giving him ideas for what to put on his outline. It was quite a sight to see...7 rough-and-tough, hyper, you'd think school is the last thing on their mind, Hispanic guys, crowding around their friend to help with a research outline. It warmed me to the core. I was so proud of all of them. After they left, I helped JC get his thoughts together. He left feeling organized and capable. The more I can empower these kids toward their own success, the better I do as a teacher.
Today was a good day. My students were engaged, they all jumped to give me their email addresses when I asked if they wanted me to email them their progress report, they were helping each other, they were nice to me, and they provided evidence of their learning. The perfect day in a teacher's week.
Quote of the Day:
"S____, did you have your Weaties this morning?"
"My weedies?"
"Yeah."
"...Are you asking me if I'm high?"
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
No Mercy!
It broke my heart to do this, but I decided (for the sake of my own sanity) that I was going to crack down this year on how much I allow my students to get away with...how much I let them take advantage of my kindness. So, for my LA classes, I've told them since the beginning of the week that their notecards, articles, and works cited page were due on Wednesday as soon as they came to class. I was determined to not allow them to think, "Oh, I don't have to print right now because Ms. Greene will let me print in the morning," which is what they normally do.
I wrote on the board when I got to the trailer this morning: "No, you cannot print here today."
As the students trickled in for each class period, I was bombarded with excuses, questions, complaints and pleas. The only ones I gave in to were the legitimate cases caused by Noodle Tools malfunctions. For the students with those types of problems, I allowed them to use Noodle and print their notecards, etc. as needed.
I wrote on the board when I got to the trailer this morning: "No, you cannot print here today."
As the students trickled in for each class period, I was bombarded with excuses, questions, complaints and pleas. The only ones I gave in to were the legitimate cases caused by Noodle Tools malfunctions. For the students with those types of problems, I allowed them to use Noodle and print their notecards, etc. as needed.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Lack of Concentration
For my literature classes, we were back in the trailer after being in the computer lab for the past 2-3 days of class. The students had the following instructions:
- Read and highlight articles (since most of read better from paper than a computer screen.)
- Make last-minute additions to note cards
- Begin filling in essay outline template
I understand, for ESOL students, it is difficult to read 5-10 pages of information on a topic that you're only just beginning to undestand. However, many of the students spent a lot of their time chatting. Some of them were actually talking about the research, but most of the conversations were off topic. The majority of students were doing what they were supposed to be doing. Those who were talking off topic, though, really grated on my nerves. I did my best to remind them that tomorrow is a checkpoint day: their notecards and highlighted articles are due. If they are missing something...I'm sorry. You get the grade that your efforts deserve. Some of the students did start on their outlines, and that is great!
During my LDC IV class, I introduced the concept of a chunk paragraph. Basically, you respond to a topic with one paragraph containing a topic sentence, concrete detail, commentary, and a concluding sentence. It's a body paragraph, really. However, it gives the assignment more focus, so the students have the opportunity to practice adding more details in their paragraphs. They are going to write a chunk a week...every Tuesday is writing day for them anyway. So, we'll write a chunk that is somehow related to our reading on the previous Monday.
Everyone seemed really tired today. I felt worn down. The kids had very little focus. I think it has something to do with the weather cooling down a bit. I hope things don't feel so chaotic tomorrow.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Researching in the 21st Century
Every year, for the first 4 years of teaching, I had to assign a research project to my students at the end of 2nd semester. It was kind of a right of passage. The students had practiced essay writing throughout the year, so they had to use their writing skills AND their new-found MLA format skills. In my opinion, this is just way too much for an end of the year activity. The kids are burned out, the teachers are burned out, and no one can concentrate on a task for more than 5 minutes.
Well, this year, I'm turning the tables. I started my JR LA and SOPH LA classes on their research projects right away (as I've explained in previous posts). At first, I was determined to have them do their bibliographies, note cards, and works cited pages by hand so they HAD TO learn MLA format. They'll probably have to identify things like "proper punctuation for the title of a novel in an MLA citation" on a Benchmark or other standardized test. However, most of my students are writing WAY below grade level, so I'm having to teach them basic essay format almost from scratch. (Some of them think that one sentence that stretches for 6 lines on a piece of paper counts as a paragraph!)
To cut down on the paperwork, while keeping my high expectations for their learning, I enlisted the help of our Media Center specialist and her new toy called Noodle Tools. http://www.noodletools.com/
This program is awesome! As the students do their article/website research through our Media Center databases, they can use Noodle Tools Bibliography to create a working bibliography online (by inputing author, title, publication, etc. information into 'fill in' boxes), then print a Works Cited page that is already in correct MLA format with indentions, italics, quotations, etc.
Furthermore, each source has a link to a blank Noodle Tool Note Card that the students fill in with the appropriate information plus any direct quotes they'd like to use or paraphrases they come up with. The program keeps the cards organized for them in a workspace, then prints them all neatly for the student when he or she is ready.
My students went to the computer lab for 3 days during my class (the first day was 1/2 orientation to the databases and Noodle Tools), and they've accomplished more in those 3 days than I have been able to do in a week with past classes who had to do everything by hand. Most of them have found their 2-3 sources, created and printed a bibliography, and created and printed note cards for each source. All of that in 3 days!
Tomorrow, I want them to take one more look at each source and highlight information that would be useful in their essay. Then, I want them to use their KWL, articles, and note cards to start outlining their essay. I've come up with an outline template that walks them through the different parts of an essay. Hopefully, that will cut down on questions like, "Ms. Greene, where does the thesis statement go?"
BTW: I forgot to mention last Friday that I gave the students 2 more ways to remember the proper format of an essay. For the visual learners, I drew a burger on the board, and explained that a good essay is like a good burger...it has a top bun (introduction), the insides to keep things interesting (body), and a bottom bun (conclusion). Without the stuff in the middle, it's not very interesting, and not very appealing. Without the bun, everything falls apart.
Then, for my kinesthetic learners, I gave small groups/pairs an essay that had been cut apart into hook, background info, thesis, 3 topic sentences, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The students had to reassemble the essay using what they already knew about essay format and clues from the topic sentences. Both of these worked very well!
Well, this year, I'm turning the tables. I started my JR LA and SOPH LA classes on their research projects right away (as I've explained in previous posts). At first, I was determined to have them do their bibliographies, note cards, and works cited pages by hand so they HAD TO learn MLA format. They'll probably have to identify things like "proper punctuation for the title of a novel in an MLA citation" on a Benchmark or other standardized test. However, most of my students are writing WAY below grade level, so I'm having to teach them basic essay format almost from scratch. (Some of them think that one sentence that stretches for 6 lines on a piece of paper counts as a paragraph!)
To cut down on the paperwork, while keeping my high expectations for their learning, I enlisted the help of our Media Center specialist and her new toy called Noodle Tools. http://www.noodletools.com/
This program is awesome! As the students do their article/website research through our Media Center databases, they can use Noodle Tools Bibliography to create a working bibliography online (by inputing author, title, publication, etc. information into 'fill in' boxes), then print a Works Cited page that is already in correct MLA format with indentions, italics, quotations, etc.
Furthermore, each source has a link to a blank Noodle Tool Note Card that the students fill in with the appropriate information plus any direct quotes they'd like to use or paraphrases they come up with. The program keeps the cards organized for them in a workspace, then prints them all neatly for the student when he or she is ready.
My students went to the computer lab for 3 days during my class (the first day was 1/2 orientation to the databases and Noodle Tools), and they've accomplished more in those 3 days than I have been able to do in a week with past classes who had to do everything by hand. Most of them have found their 2-3 sources, created and printed a bibliography, and created and printed note cards for each source. All of that in 3 days!
Tomorrow, I want them to take one more look at each source and highlight information that would be useful in their essay. Then, I want them to use their KWL, articles, and note cards to start outlining their essay. I've come up with an outline template that walks them through the different parts of an essay. Hopefully, that will cut down on questions like, "Ms. Greene, where does the thesis statement go?"
BTW: I forgot to mention last Friday that I gave the students 2 more ways to remember the proper format of an essay. For the visual learners, I drew a burger on the board, and explained that a good essay is like a good burger...it has a top bun (introduction), the insides to keep things interesting (body), and a bottom bun (conclusion). Without the stuff in the middle, it's not very interesting, and not very appealing. Without the bun, everything falls apart.
Then, for my kinesthetic learners, I gave small groups/pairs an essay that had been cut apart into hook, background info, thesis, 3 topic sentences, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The students had to reassemble the essay using what they already knew about essay format and clues from the topic sentences. Both of these worked very well!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Starting that Research Project
The past couple of days have been sort of a review over basic essay format. I know that some students are, unfortunately, hearing much of this for the first time. I'm trying to take it slow, but there is just so much time that I can spend on teaching BASIC essay format (intro w/ thesis, body paragraps w/ topic sentences, conclusion). It is my job to start them on MLA format and persuasive writing.
My students have all signed up for a teen issue that they would like to research. These issues are directly related to the summer reading books, so they should theoretically have some background knowledge about the topic (although, relistically, most did not do their reading). They did not have to do the reading to be able to do this project, though, so there is no excuse for full participation and completion! Their projects are worth 300 points and will consist of:
KWL (10)
Participation in Writing Centers (20)
Reading and highlighting articles (10)
Source Note Cards (30)
Outline (20)
Rough Draft (40)
Final Draft (100)
Group Planning (20)
Group Presentation and Note Cards (50)
So, today, I passed out a pack of papers that included: 3 articles, 1 essay, 1 works cited page, and 1 note card. I stayed late last night to do research, write my own original essay, create my works cited page, and create a sample note card. I passed out clean copies of my originals that were highlighted and notated. Then, I separated the students into small groups of 3 or 4. Each group received on of my original documents and had to highlight and make notes on their papers exactly as they appeared on my originals. These notes were things that labled the thesis, topic sentences, paraphrased citations, direct quote citations, etc. It also provided some hints about how to format essays (double space, header with page number). The groups made their marks, then passed the document to the next group, and so on.
Thus, the students have tangibly created models and reminders of what I expect from their own research documents. I told them to refer to these documents before asking me questions so I don't have to answer 22 times: "Ms. Greene, do we need a title for our essay?" The students put these documents into their classroom folders which will stay in my trailer.
I'm wondering if I'm overloading them with information to start. I guess repetition is good...they'll hear it once now, hear it again later, hear it again during their research and writing, and hopefully it will take effect. I tend to want to wait to give them the info until they actually need it, but how will they remember it if they only hear it once?
Tomorrow, we're meeting in the computer lab for the students to have an introduction to the databases they'll use for their research, and to Noodle Tools, which will help them stay organized through this process.
My students have all signed up for a teen issue that they would like to research. These issues are directly related to the summer reading books, so they should theoretically have some background knowledge about the topic (although, relistically, most did not do their reading). They did not have to do the reading to be able to do this project, though, so there is no excuse for full participation and completion! Their projects are worth 300 points and will consist of:
KWL (10)
Participation in Writing Centers (20)
Reading and highlighting articles (10)
Source Note Cards (30)
Outline (20)
Rough Draft (40)
Final Draft (100)
Group Planning (20)
Group Presentation and Note Cards (50)
So, today, I passed out a pack of papers that included: 3 articles, 1 essay, 1 works cited page, and 1 note card. I stayed late last night to do research, write my own original essay, create my works cited page, and create a sample note card. I passed out clean copies of my originals that were highlighted and notated. Then, I separated the students into small groups of 3 or 4. Each group received on of my original documents and had to highlight and make notes on their papers exactly as they appeared on my originals. These notes were things that labled the thesis, topic sentences, paraphrased citations, direct quote citations, etc. It also provided some hints about how to format essays (double space, header with page number). The groups made their marks, then passed the document to the next group, and so on.
Thus, the students have tangibly created models and reminders of what I expect from their own research documents. I told them to refer to these documents before asking me questions so I don't have to answer 22 times: "Ms. Greene, do we need a title for our essay?" The students put these documents into their classroom folders which will stay in my trailer.
I'm wondering if I'm overloading them with information to start. I guess repetition is good...they'll hear it once now, hear it again later, hear it again during their research and writing, and hopefully it will take effect. I tend to want to wait to give them the info until they actually need it, but how will they remember it if they only hear it once?
Tomorrow, we're meeting in the computer lab for the students to have an introduction to the databases they'll use for their research, and to Noodle Tools, which will help them stay organized through this process.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, First Week
Friday sort of sneaked up on me. I am still trying to find my groove at school, trying to get into a routine. Thursday afternoon, I looked at my day planner for the first time since Monday and thought, "Wow! Tomorrow's already Friday! I still have so much to do...." Oh, dear me.
Class on Friday was a great day. I passed out the overview sheet and daily schedule of events for the students' research project. They were not as scared of the fact that this project would take them five weeks to complete as I thought they'd be. I guess seeing it all laid out and knowing what to expect was a great comfort to them. Mostly, they just wanted to know what the topics were so they could sign up for their top pick.
The research topics were all related to the summer reading books, but they are also real-world issues that affect teenagers in our schools; things like: teen pregnancy, teen smoking, homelessness, drug addiction, domestic violence, bullying, eating disorders, alcoholism, etc. The students were really excited about signing up for their topic of choice! There were some fights about who would get what (I had a lot of students interested in domestic violence and eating disorders), but it was all resolved by one or two students gracefully choosing one of the other topics to research.
After they chose their topics and read the overview sheet, I asked the students to do a KWL organizer to start brainstorming ideas on which to focus their research. In a KWL organizer, there are 3 columns into which the students categorize what they KNOW about the topic, what they WANT to know about the topic, and what they've LEARNED about the topic. Thus, the last column would be filled out only after they've done their research. This is a great way to get their brains to start churning up ideas!
These few activities took up the whole class period. The students really put a lot of thought into their KWL's, so I told them to hang on to them over the weekend, and if they thought of anything else to add, add it. Then, I'd take them up on Monday. A lot of them were excited to continue thinking about their topics over the weekend!
On Monday and Tuesday, I plan on sharing an example article with the students, and practicing brainstorming and outlining with the students on a topic like teen dropouts. That way, they have a model on how to start organizing their original ideas with information from their sources.
For this weekend, however, I need to grade their summer reading essays, create and plan handouts and activities for next week, and figure out what to do with my LDC IV class, since I have absolutely no resources or materials for it.
Quote of the Day:
"Miss, how do you spell 'kindda'? It's k-i-n-d-d-a, right?"
"No.... First of all, it's two words. Secondly, you spell it k-i-n-d space o-f."
"REALLY?!"
"...yes."
Class on Friday was a great day. I passed out the overview sheet and daily schedule of events for the students' research project. They were not as scared of the fact that this project would take them five weeks to complete as I thought they'd be. I guess seeing it all laid out and knowing what to expect was a great comfort to them. Mostly, they just wanted to know what the topics were so they could sign up for their top pick.
The research topics were all related to the summer reading books, but they are also real-world issues that affect teenagers in our schools; things like: teen pregnancy, teen smoking, homelessness, drug addiction, domestic violence, bullying, eating disorders, alcoholism, etc. The students were really excited about signing up for their topic of choice! There were some fights about who would get what (I had a lot of students interested in domestic violence and eating disorders), but it was all resolved by one or two students gracefully choosing one of the other topics to research.
After they chose their topics and read the overview sheet, I asked the students to do a KWL organizer to start brainstorming ideas on which to focus their research. In a KWL organizer, there are 3 columns into which the students categorize what they KNOW about the topic, what they WANT to know about the topic, and what they've LEARNED about the topic. Thus, the last column would be filled out only after they've done their research. This is a great way to get their brains to start churning up ideas!
These few activities took up the whole class period. The students really put a lot of thought into their KWL's, so I told them to hang on to them over the weekend, and if they thought of anything else to add, add it. Then, I'd take them up on Monday. A lot of them were excited to continue thinking about their topics over the weekend!
On Monday and Tuesday, I plan on sharing an example article with the students, and practicing brainstorming and outlining with the students on a topic like teen dropouts. That way, they have a model on how to start organizing their original ideas with information from their sources.
For this weekend, however, I need to grade their summer reading essays, create and plan handouts and activities for next week, and figure out what to do with my LDC IV class, since I have absolutely no resources or materials for it.
Quote of the Day:
"Miss, how do you spell 'kindda'? It's k-i-n-d-d-a, right?"
"No.... First of all, it's two words. Secondly, you spell it k-i-n-d space o-f."
"REALLY?!"
"...yes."
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Day 4: Rules, Rules, Rules
I didn't post yesterday because my students were just writing their essays over their summer reading. I gave them a choice of 3 topics related to the reading (conflict, choices, defend or support the book as summer reading), and they had to chose one. I also gave a 4th choice for the "slackers" and new students. They had to tell me about themselves as students. While the they all worked quietly on this (I allowed a minimal amount of talking if they needed to clarify a point with a friend), I graded their summer reading objective test. It was a productive day!
Today was fun. I gave the students in my LA classes 25 minutes to finish whatever they needed to finish on their summer reading essays. Most of them used their time wisely and finished. For the other 1/2 of class, we did a board activity similar to the "Chalk Talk" that we did on Tuesday. (Like I said on Tues., I don't want to give up on an activity just because it's not perfect the first time!) This time, we wrote "Classroom Rules" on the board. The students brainstormed class rules that they've heard before, and what they wanted to change about those rules. I agreed to be flexible with the rules IF students gave me something in return. The students chose the top 5 rules that they had a problem with, and through our discussion, 1st period came up with the following:
1. Teacher will give 30-second grace period on tardiness
* Students will work bell to bell
2. Teacher will allow students to use iPods quitely during individual work time
* Students will participate fully during group work time
3. Teacher will allow students to leave textbooks in classroom
* Students will come during advisement to finish work
4. Teacher will not give homework from the textbook
* Homework can be a worksheet or short writing assignment
5. Food, Drinks, and Gum are allowed
* Everyone will help clean up everyday
These seem pretty sensible to me! The experiment worked really well except in my 6th period SOPH LA (S) class. They just weren't interested in the activity. I had to pull 3 rules out of them, and their homework is to come up with 2 more rules, or they have to follow whatever rules I decide.
In LDC IV today, I had the students do their "I Am" poems. I showed them three of the best from last year (nicely written, beautifully illustrated), and told them to get to work. Most of them wanted to take them home to finish for homework, so they could make them look really nice. I noticed that the students have self-segregated. Asians/Hispanics. I've made a list to pair them into non-native language speaking pairs, and am going to think of some speaking and writing activities they have to do together in order to practice their English. Their tendency to stick to their "own kind" is why they are in LDC IV to begin with: they don't practice their English enough!
Tomorrow, I am introducing the students' research project to them. We'll see what kind of feedback I get from them....
Today was fun. I gave the students in my LA classes 25 minutes to finish whatever they needed to finish on their summer reading essays. Most of them used their time wisely and finished. For the other 1/2 of class, we did a board activity similar to the "Chalk Talk" that we did on Tuesday. (Like I said on Tues., I don't want to give up on an activity just because it's not perfect the first time!) This time, we wrote "Classroom Rules" on the board. The students brainstormed class rules that they've heard before, and what they wanted to change about those rules. I agreed to be flexible with the rules IF students gave me something in return. The students chose the top 5 rules that they had a problem with, and through our discussion, 1st period came up with the following:
1. Teacher will give 30-second grace period on tardiness
* Students will work bell to bell
2. Teacher will allow students to use iPods quitely during individual work time
* Students will participate fully during group work time
3. Teacher will allow students to leave textbooks in classroom
* Students will come during advisement to finish work
4. Teacher will not give homework from the textbook
* Homework can be a worksheet or short writing assignment
5. Food, Drinks, and Gum are allowed
* Everyone will help clean up everyday
These seem pretty sensible to me! The experiment worked really well except in my 6th period SOPH LA (S) class. They just weren't interested in the activity. I had to pull 3 rules out of them, and their homework is to come up with 2 more rules, or they have to follow whatever rules I decide.
In LDC IV today, I had the students do their "I Am" poems. I showed them three of the best from last year (nicely written, beautifully illustrated), and told them to get to work. Most of them wanted to take them home to finish for homework, so they could make them look really nice. I noticed that the students have self-segregated. Asians/Hispanics. I've made a list to pair them into non-native language speaking pairs, and am going to think of some speaking and writing activities they have to do together in order to practice their English. Their tendency to stick to their "own kind" is why they are in LDC IV to begin with: they don't practice their English enough!
Tomorrow, I am introducing the students' research project to them. We'll see what kind of feedback I get from them....
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Day Two: Boring and Crazy
How can one day be both, right? Well, for the first half of the class period, students had to take their summer reading test. This took up about 25-30 minutes. I hate test time because time just drags and drags. After their tests were turned in, I led students in a "Chalk Talk" to get them moving and to start opening up. The original purpose for the "Chalk Talk" was to have students think about and agree upon classroom rules for our period together. But, we didn't get around to the rules. I have a collab. teacher during 1st period (the "Talk" was something she did last year), and she wanted to get an idea of weather the students were excited or scared about their sophomore year. So, we just wrote "School" on the board, and the kids commenced writing their thoughts on the board about this year. Rules came up only at the end.
I think we might have another "Chalk Talk" on Thursday (tomorrow they have to write their summer reading essay) to come up with the classroom rules together. I think that would be a cool activity, and it will get me out of my bad habit of trying something once, having it not turn out exactly the way I wanted, and never doing it again! I need to get the students used to doing activities like this so they are more comfortable with speaking their mind, getting up and moving around, responding and interacting with each other, and thinking outside of the box.
On top of what I wanted to do with my students, I was also taking care of paperwork that is necessary at the beginning of the school year. That put an added level of hectic to the day.
A thought: I didn't put the kids into a seating chart yet because we didn't have enough desks on the first day. I'm finding that some in my ESOL class, especially, need to be isolated from their friends, and need to be around people who don't speak their L1. Tomorrow, I should go ahead and get the students settled into a seating chart. I don't want them to get comfortable with doing whatever they want. I'm going to put numbers on the desks ASAP, but I think I should get them in the assigned desks NOW.
We'll be starting a research project soon, so I want to have the class organized before that. It will make me feel much better when I let the students move around to work together.
I think we might have another "Chalk Talk" on Thursday (tomorrow they have to write their summer reading essay) to come up with the classroom rules together. I think that would be a cool activity, and it will get me out of my bad habit of trying something once, having it not turn out exactly the way I wanted, and never doing it again! I need to get the students used to doing activities like this so they are more comfortable with speaking their mind, getting up and moving around, responding and interacting with each other, and thinking outside of the box.
On top of what I wanted to do with my students, I was also taking care of paperwork that is necessary at the beginning of the school year. That put an added level of hectic to the day.
A thought: I didn't put the kids into a seating chart yet because we didn't have enough desks on the first day. I'm finding that some in my ESOL class, especially, need to be isolated from their friends, and need to be around people who don't speak their L1. Tomorrow, I should go ahead and get the students settled into a seating chart. I don't want them to get comfortable with doing whatever they want. I'm going to put numbers on the desks ASAP, but I think I should get them in the assigned desks NOW.
We'll be starting a research project soon, so I want to have the class organized before that. It will make me feel much better when I let the students move around to work together.
Monday, August 10, 2009
First Day of New School Year
The first day of a new school year is usually a nerve-wracking time for many teachers. We wonder: what will my students be like? Will have have any hard to handle students? Are all of my papers copied? What activities should I do with my students? ...etc.
I was definitely still feeling like this on Friday, the last day of preplanning. So, I made the decision to go in on Sunday (something I've never done before!) to make sure I had my ducks in a row for that crucial day. I had 2 less days of preplanning this year because teachers in GA were furloughed for three days. My other furlough day will occur in October some time. I thought I'd be able to get everything done in the few days that we did have for preplanning, but I was wrong. Those two other days really make a difference. So, I spent two and a half hours in my classroom trailer on Sunday, printing rosters, checking IEP's, planning organized activities, and writing up a lesson plan.
My lesson plan is what really saved me. I used a template from the the SIOP model, and planned my day using components of SIOP. Taking time to plan carefully and precisely helped me make use of every minute of the class period--from bell to bell. I really like this! I am going to plan all of my lessons (for all 3 preps) in the SOIP lesson plans to make sure I keep my students focused, give them ample time for practice, and give them opportunities for interaction in each lesson.
As soon as I left my trailer, I felt relieved and excited for the first day! I've never felt that before, and it is such a great thrill!
All of the students responded will to the organization of the class. Having the time increments on the board next to each task really helped me stay on track, too! I wrote the following on the board:
1. Welcome and Introduction (5)
2. Syllabus (5)
3. Personality Type Activity (25)
4. Summer Reading Sign Up
5. Learning Type Activity (15)
6. Wrap-Up (5)
I stayed on track in each period, and so did the kids. I know that some of it has to do with the fact that it was the first day, and everyone was on their best behavior. However, I am hoping that it will continue to pay off if I put so much time into preparing for each class.
One thing: Today, I used the same plan for all classes. I technically have 3 preps: SOPH CP LA (collab), SOPH CP LA (ESOL/Sheltered), and LDC IV (ESOL). I know it will take longer to plan 3 preps with the SIOP lesson plan, but we'll see if it is worth it. I'm willing to give it a try!
I was definitely still feeling like this on Friday, the last day of preplanning. So, I made the decision to go in on Sunday (something I've never done before!) to make sure I had my ducks in a row for that crucial day. I had 2 less days of preplanning this year because teachers in GA were furloughed for three days. My other furlough day will occur in October some time. I thought I'd be able to get everything done in the few days that we did have for preplanning, but I was wrong. Those two other days really make a difference. So, I spent two and a half hours in my classroom trailer on Sunday, printing rosters, checking IEP's, planning organized activities, and writing up a lesson plan.
My lesson plan is what really saved me. I used a template from the the SIOP model, and planned my day using components of SIOP. Taking time to plan carefully and precisely helped me make use of every minute of the class period--from bell to bell. I really like this! I am going to plan all of my lessons (for all 3 preps) in the SOIP lesson plans to make sure I keep my students focused, give them ample time for practice, and give them opportunities for interaction in each lesson.
As soon as I left my trailer, I felt relieved and excited for the first day! I've never felt that before, and it is such a great thrill!
All of the students responded will to the organization of the class. Having the time increments on the board next to each task really helped me stay on track, too! I wrote the following on the board:
1. Welcome and Introduction (5)
2. Syllabus (5)
3. Personality Type Activity (25)
4. Summer Reading Sign Up
5. Learning Type Activity (15)
6. Wrap-Up (5)
I stayed on track in each period, and so did the kids. I know that some of it has to do with the fact that it was the first day, and everyone was on their best behavior. However, I am hoping that it will continue to pay off if I put so much time into preparing for each class.
One thing: Today, I used the same plan for all classes. I technically have 3 preps: SOPH CP LA (collab), SOPH CP LA (ESOL/Sheltered), and LDC IV (ESOL). I know it will take longer to plan 3 preps with the SIOP lesson plan, but we'll see if it is worth it. I'm willing to give it a try!
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