My students are currently working on their final exams, and I am forced to sit quietly and busy myself with something that is not distracting for them. So, I am making my final entry of the school year. I may post over the summer as I am taking home all of my SIOP materials to get some ideas for classroom management, lessons, and activities for next year. At the end of each school year, I always have aspirations for reworking some of my less successful lesson plans and coming up with projects, powerpoints, and activities. The truth is, though, I mostly forget about school during the summer months. My brain doesn't even want to think about the chaos of it all: the paperwork, the gradebook, the never-ending questions, the complaints, the sleepers, the eyerolls, the 5AM wake ups, the 20 minute lunches, the commandments from the County.... A two month break from it all is barely enough to recharge for the next go-round.
A couple of things that I do what to think about, though, are: 1) how to give immediate punishment to sleepers. They drive me crazy, and it's not enough to give them detention the next day. I want to make a "Standing Corner" in my room next year where the sleepers have to go stand up for the rest of the period and do their work. I have to consider its positioning, though, so I can send a sleeper there during lecture, reading time, presentations, or individual work time. 2) Next year, I need to not be worried about damaging a students' social skills by moving him/her away from friends. Sometimes I worry that a student will shut down if he/she isn't near a particular person with whom he/she feels safe. This only applies to a few students each year, but I'm going to see if moving them isn't the best thing for them. 3) I want to incorporate more world lit into SOPH LA (WORLD LIT). Especially for the novel selections, the students read Lord of the Flies and Bronx Masquerade or Go Ask Alice. One of those is by a British author, and the others are by American authors! What is so "wordly" about that? I already have some new texts in mind and I'll have to see if we have money to purchase a class set. If not, I may have to do a fund raiser to buy the books. :)
I don't know if I posted the best news: I'm staying at CHHS next year! I'll be moving inside the building and will no longer have to plan my treks into the building to make copies, use the RR, or visit the media center. I'll directly across the hall from my department chair, and close to everything! The kids have been great about helping me pack up and move. They are happy I am staying even though they know I work them hard. I guess they can really tell a difference when you work them hard because you care.
Today is graduation, and I'll be sitting with O___, my student from Rwanda. She is such a joy, and I am delighted for her. She'll be going back to Rwanda this summer to visit her family for two months. She said that she'll be staying with her grandmother for two weeks out in the country, which is something she's never done before. She says it makes her nervous to be out in the middle of nowhere in her grandmother's house with nothing by cows all around. It is about two hours away from Kigali, the capital, where O___ lives. She promised to send pictures and also invited me to go with her next year! :) That would be the trip of a lifetime!
I'm sitting here looking at my 6th period students as they take their final exam, and I'm thinking: "How strange. I do not have a favorite among my students." I enjoy them all for various reasons: some are hard workers, some have a great sense of humor, some are sweethearts, and some are just so clueless that I'm always anxious and excited to see that lightbulb turn on.
Time to grade some tests. I hope they did well!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Ending with Novels
"Miss, I'm going to keep this journal forever," said C___. "It has my thoughts and my poems, and it has quotes I like from the book we're reading. That's special."
My SOPH LA students are reading Bronx Masquerade, and I've asked them to do a collection of activities to help them connect to the themes and message of the book. On days when we read 15-20 pages, the students have to do a double entry: choose one quote to copy into their notebook journals and respond to with at least one paragraph of thoughts, reactions and feelings. To help them locate their quote of choice, I cut up post it notes into strips and passed them out in cups. The students had them on hand for when something sounded particularly moving or interesting. At least twice a week, I also have them write Free writes where they fill up a page in their journals with prose on whatever they like. To connect with the poetry in the book, the students will also write at least seven poems with themes similar to those in the book. So far, they've written a "Shape" poem about their secret identity, two "What if" poems about social issues, and a "Where I am from" poem.
Some of the students have not embraced this "easy project grade," and have not completed various assignments. Most students, though, are enjoying this break from the standardized format and the opportunity to express themselves more creatively. To grade their work, I do a journal check each week to check for completion. At the end of the novel, we'll have an "Open Mike" day during which they can share one or more of their best journal entries (poem, free write, whatever). After that day, we'll be watching Freedom Writers together, and I'll use those couple of free days to read the complete journals of those students who want to share with me. :) When I do journal checks, many of the students are excited to show me their entries and want me to read them. They are so proud of their words!
In my JR LA class, we are almost done reading Of Mice and Men. I always enjoy reading this novella with my classes because the students really get attached to Lennie and are excited about the story. Every day, they walk in and ask, "Are we reading today?!" If I say yes, they light up; if I say no, they wilt and say something like: "...Oh. But, I want to know what happens to Lennie." Usually, when I read out loud in class, it's a struggle to keep everyone interested, and I often lose a few students to sleep. During this novel, though, I can read straight through an entire chapter and they are glued to the page the entire time!
I wish I could find more books that the students love like these two, especially for SOPH LA. The choices for that level are all either too long or too complex for sophomores to truly connect to. Worse, the choices for "world lit" are mostly by American or British authors! I might ask the Media Center specialists for some help in coming up with some new choices.
My SOPH LA students are reading Bronx Masquerade, and I've asked them to do a collection of activities to help them connect to the themes and message of the book. On days when we read 15-20 pages, the students have to do a double entry: choose one quote to copy into their notebook journals and respond to with at least one paragraph of thoughts, reactions and feelings. To help them locate their quote of choice, I cut up post it notes into strips and passed them out in cups. The students had them on hand for when something sounded particularly moving or interesting. At least twice a week, I also have them write Free writes where they fill up a page in their journals with prose on whatever they like. To connect with the poetry in the book, the students will also write at least seven poems with themes similar to those in the book. So far, they've written a "Shape" poem about their secret identity, two "What if" poems about social issues, and a "Where I am from" poem.
Some of the students have not embraced this "easy project grade," and have not completed various assignments. Most students, though, are enjoying this break from the standardized format and the opportunity to express themselves more creatively. To grade their work, I do a journal check each week to check for completion. At the end of the novel, we'll have an "Open Mike" day during which they can share one or more of their best journal entries (poem, free write, whatever). After that day, we'll be watching Freedom Writers together, and I'll use those couple of free days to read the complete journals of those students who want to share with me. :) When I do journal checks, many of the students are excited to show me their entries and want me to read them. They are so proud of their words!
In my JR LA class, we are almost done reading Of Mice and Men. I always enjoy reading this novella with my classes because the students really get attached to Lennie and are excited about the story. Every day, they walk in and ask, "Are we reading today?!" If I say yes, they light up; if I say no, they wilt and say something like: "...Oh. But, I want to know what happens to Lennie." Usually, when I read out loud in class, it's a struggle to keep everyone interested, and I often lose a few students to sleep. During this novel, though, I can read straight through an entire chapter and they are glued to the page the entire time!
I wish I could find more books that the students love like these two, especially for SOPH LA. The choices for that level are all either too long or too complex for sophomores to truly connect to. Worse, the choices for "world lit" are mostly by American or British authors! I might ask the Media Center specialists for some help in coming up with some new choices.
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