October is a rough month in school. The newness of the semester has worn off, and the next break seems so far away. Weekends don't feel nearly long enough, and patience is wearing thin for both students and teachers. We've been together long enough to get a sense for each others' moods, and we have little tolerance on both sides for caring about another's bad day or attitude problem. Everyone is stressed, overworked, and tired. ...Mostly tired.
Last week, I found myself feeling particularly hostile toward my students. I didn't care about their excuses, I didn't care if I hurt their feelings with my comments, and I certainly didn't care about their personal drama. I do not like feeling like this because, in general, I enjoy being around these young people. Their personalities are so diverse, and most of the time, they are just looking for someone to notice them. For some reason, the novel The Secret Life of Bees popped into my mind: the scene when August Boatwright is teaching Lily how to care for bees, and she tells her that she just has to send the bees love while she's working with them, and everything would go just right. "Act like you know what you're doing, even if you don't. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved." This quote stuck in my heart all day, and I realized that rather than trying to make things go right through force, threats, or anger, I needed to go back to love. When working with students, love should be at the foundation of every interaction.
So, this week, as I stand in the hall outside of my door and greet my students for each class, I think: "I love you, I love you, I love you...." As I watch hundreds of students pass by me during my morning hall duty, my thoughts of "I have so much grading to do! I'd rather be doing that than watching all of these hooligans and listening to their foolishness" are replaced with "I love you, I love you, I love you...", and I found myself smiling at no one in particular. :) I'm going to try to continue with this thought all week. I already feel like I've pushed past the mid-semester slump and can make it through this last 6 weeks.
Meanwhile, here's what has been going on in my classes:
SOPH WORLD LIT
We've finished reading Oedipus the King. Last week, the students took their test on Part II of the play, and wrote an essay about humility, relating it to Oedipus's ignorance throughout most of the play and the lesson that Creon tries to teach Oedipus with his last words of the play. I've also had the students in the Media Center, working in PhotoStory on the computers. This is such a cool program! The students chose to work alone or in pairs to summarize a section of the play with photos, background music, and their own narration. We're finishing today with narrations, and then I'm going to put all of their parts together to create an Oedipus the King movie of sorts. They have done really well with it, and I'm excited to see the finished products for each class!
LA II
We've just finished Unit 2 of the Visions red book. This unit was all about changes. The students will do a unit review for the next couple of days, then they'll test on Friday. I'll probably reward them with a movie that relates to the theme we've been talking about. They will, of course, have to write a couple of paragraphs to discuss that connection. I don't think I've shown a movie to this class yet! It's so easy to get into a routine with the Visions series that I sometimes forget about being creative or fun with lessons. Hey, when you teach 4 preps, something has to give, right? It's sad, but true.
LDC III
We finished reading Night about a week and a half ago. The students enjoyed the book, and I enjoyed reading it to them and discussing it with them. Last Monday, they did an alphabet review of important names, objects, words, and themes from the book--for each letter of the alphabet, they wrote a word or phrase that related to the book (i.e. A: Auschwitz, B: Buna). Then, I took them to the computer lab on Tuesday and Wednesday so they could create Prezi presentations of their reviews. They did such a great job, and even taught me some new things about the program! Here are some examples of their work:
http://prezi.com/_iomalhezjpq/night-alphabet-review/
http://prezi.com/fywxwtas286g/night/
This week, as a reward for working so hard, and so they can see another excellent example of individuals were affected by the holocaust, we are watching Life is Beautiful. So far, they love the movie, and one of them even said he's going to find the movie to show to his brother and sister. :)
JR AMER LIT
This group of students has been very disappointing to me. Together, they are immature, impatient, and disruptive. This is the first year I have not enjoyed teaching The Crucible, and the first year that I felt my students incabable of appreciating the play and what it teaches us about human behavior. We barely got through Acts 1 and 2 together, so I quizzed them on both of those. Then, instead of reading the rest, we watched the film version of the play. They enjoyed the film, and we did have some good discussion after each Act. I just wish these students had more patience for comprehending and connecting with text!
Since they didn't have much patience for the book, I'm going to take them to the computer lab this week. They, too, are going to do Prezi alphabet reviews, but they will be required to look up photos and additional information of each of the words or names they use, and incorporate those things into their presentation. That way, they will have to connect with the play and characters on a deeper level.
Once we finish with The Crucible, we're going to move quickly into Rationalism: The Declaration of Independence, Poor Richard's Almanack, Ben Franklin's Autobiography, and others. I love this period, and gain a greater appreciation for it as I get older. The literature is dry (I mean...it's Rationalism, you know?!), but to understand the period is to understand why it is that way. I put together a great PowerPoint presentation to introduce the period after I gathered information on it during a trip to Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown a couple of years ago. I even have a newspaper from a printing press that includes the Declaration of Independence and a picture of myself with a bronze T.J. in the process of writing the Declaration.
What I'd REALLY love is if I could show clips from the HBO miniseries of John Adams because they show Thomas Jefferson's composition of the Declaration, and when it was first read aloud to the public. They are such a moving scenes! Alas, our Media Center does not have John Adams in the library. :( Perhaps I can change that....
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
One-on-One
Some of my favorite times as a teacher are those rare days when the students stay on task and get their work done...EARLY! Most days, we work bell-to-bell, but if there are only 5 or so minutes left in class, I take that time to get to know these young people with whom I spend so much time. Many of these students will be with me all 4 years of their high school experience (LA2 -> JR LA), so I prefer to be on the best terms possible with each of them.
In those brief 5-6 minutes, I learn about home life, boyfriends/girlfriends, hobbies, aspirations, interests, past experiences, opinions about reading, favorite classes, opinions about what the students consider good/bad teaching, and what current movies I should go see. Through these interactions, the students learn that there is another adult in this world who cares about them. This kind of connection is often useful with motivating the students in class. When something is difficult for them, they trust me enough to ask questions. When they don't understand something, they feel comfortable enough to say so. If I have to reprimand them, they know it's not personal. If they fail an activity or (yikes!) the class, they know that I cared enough to help them as much as I could, and that their failure is their own fault. And if they need help with non-school problems, they know that I am here to listen or offer assistance.
I always tell them: "If I didn't care, I wouldn't get upset with you for being off task. If I didn't care, I wouldn't send you a progress report every Friday and show my disappointment that you aren't turning in work or completing assignments. So, if I'm unhappy with you, you should know that it's only because I won't give up on you." So, these small moments, when we talk about non-school things, reinforce the fact that I do see them and care about them as individuals.
Here's what's been happening in my classes this week:
SOPH WORLD LIT
Using the Ladybug document camera and photocopied versions of the text for Sundiata, the students and I read through the 2 chapters together, annotating and discussing along the way. Going through a text this way allows for so many more opportunities for questioning and discussion. The students have come up with great questions during classtime, and others have offered responses. This shows me that they are all truly engaged with the text and are processing it on various levels. Actually, a couple of times, we read part of the text, and students have said, "Miss, shouldn't we highlight that because it says..." I praise them for being active readers and include their highlight on the text.
Today, the students are working independently to answer "Review & Assess" questions about the text. They will have a review on Monday and then a test and essay assignment on Sundiata next week.
Then...we finally transition into our study of tragic heroes and Oedipus! :)
LDC3
In this class, we completed Unit 1: Mysteries, and the students worked on a review sheet for a couple of days. Today they took their 50-question test.
I'm excited because our next unit is on "Survival," and I'm going to teach Elie Wiesel's Night for the first time. I was nervous about teaching a new novel, but then I found this unit plan that comes complete with supplementary handouts and a daily guide to the lessons! YAY! I'm going to review this and start planning accordingly.
This teacher's daily plan got me thinking, though: Why don't I have daily plans for my units? Why have I never thought of doing something like that?! That would make planning so much easier. I could add or subtract as needed, but this would ensure that I don't forget something important, something that worked really well, or a necessary supplementary text that should be included in the lessons. These would also help me ensure that I stay on track (as much as possible) with that course's pacing guide. So, I've decided that I'm going to try to put these together this year as I go through each unit.
LA2
...and so on and so on. This is how I feel about LA2. Each chapter is the same: intro activites, read chapter, answer questions, activity workbook, grammar workbook, writing assignment, quiz. Each week is exactly the same. In that strict plan, though, there are small victories for each student. Today, I stood next to a student who was supposed to underline the letters that make the "f" sound in the word biography. Something wasn't clicking in her brain: she tried to underline the whole word, then she tried to write the letter "f" above the word, then she tried to re-write the word on the line next to it. Finally, after I pronounced the word v.e.r.y s.l.o.w.l.y, underlined the "ph" in the word, then pointed to the next word (elephant), and pronounced it "el-e-PHHHHHHHH-ant," she had one of those OHHHH! moments, and underlined the "ph" in that word and the 3 following words. That's what it's all about: taking the time to help them jump those little hurdles.
I wish the county would go back to regulating the size of ESL classes (esp. these lower levels) so more situations like this could happen. It's difficult to spend that kind of time with a student when all the rest are so needy.
JR AMER LIT
We are wrapping up our study of early explorers this week. The students have been working on open book test reviews, and they will take their test on Monday; then on Tues and Wed, they will work on their Unit 2 essay. Next Thurs and Fri, I'll give a presentation on Puritans. After that, we'll be deep into our study and Puritans, and we'll read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," which will lead us into The Crucible.
I thought I would have time this week to start looking at my plans for The Crucible, but LDC3 took up all of my planning time (review and test). So, next week, I'll take a look at my old materials and start planning my sequence of lessons for our study of the play. It's a great time of year when I am teaching Oedipus and The Crucible at the same time! :)
This week's the bad/the good:
The bad: I made the mistake of waiting until the end of the unit to make the test for LDC3. This took days of organization and creating during my planning time. I need to remember to make test questions as we go through each part of the unit. Since there is no plan for that class, I have to make everything myself. This year, I'm trying to establish some kind of curriculum so I don't have to recreat the class every year.
The good: I learned a lesson this week about controlling my temper. A few students in my LDC3 class were not seated at the bell, so I assigned each of them a 15 min detention (they'd been warned about this on several previous occasions). I heard one of the girls complaining, "She can't give us detention for no reason...." I turned to her and said, "It's not for 'no reason.' You've been warned and you know the rules." Now, I would have continued by saying what I was thinking, "I don't appreciate your eye rolls; if you'd put more thought to your studies than socializing...; maybe you don't understand that rules apply to you, too...." but another student called my name and had a valid question about the assignment for that day, so I turned to him. Later that period, one of the detention students asked if he could serve his time on Monday because he can stay on Fridays. I said yes, and the girl asked, "Oh, that's an option?"
Feeling better now that class was going smoothly, I jokingly said, "I don't know about you, because you gave me attitude. I think I deserve an apology."
The girl smiled sincerely and said, "I'm sorry Ms. Greene."
If I would have had the opportunity to let my emotions get the better of me, I would have embarassed the girl, and my whole day would have a black cloud hanging over it. Instead, we both learned lessons about appropriate behavior. (By the way, this story is embarassing to tell. I can't believe I'm still learning these things!)
In those brief 5-6 minutes, I learn about home life, boyfriends/girlfriends, hobbies, aspirations, interests, past experiences, opinions about reading, favorite classes, opinions about what the students consider good/bad teaching, and what current movies I should go see. Through these interactions, the students learn that there is another adult in this world who cares about them. This kind of connection is often useful with motivating the students in class. When something is difficult for them, they trust me enough to ask questions. When they don't understand something, they feel comfortable enough to say so. If I have to reprimand them, they know it's not personal. If they fail an activity or (yikes!) the class, they know that I cared enough to help them as much as I could, and that their failure is their own fault. And if they need help with non-school problems, they know that I am here to listen or offer assistance.
I always tell them: "If I didn't care, I wouldn't get upset with you for being off task. If I didn't care, I wouldn't send you a progress report every Friday and show my disappointment that you aren't turning in work or completing assignments. So, if I'm unhappy with you, you should know that it's only because I won't give up on you." So, these small moments, when we talk about non-school things, reinforce the fact that I do see them and care about them as individuals.
Here's what's been happening in my classes this week:
SOPH WORLD LIT
Using the Ladybug document camera and photocopied versions of the text for Sundiata, the students and I read through the 2 chapters together, annotating and discussing along the way. Going through a text this way allows for so many more opportunities for questioning and discussion. The students have come up with great questions during classtime, and others have offered responses. This shows me that they are all truly engaged with the text and are processing it on various levels. Actually, a couple of times, we read part of the text, and students have said, "Miss, shouldn't we highlight that because it says..." I praise them for being active readers and include their highlight on the text.
Today, the students are working independently to answer "Review & Assess" questions about the text. They will have a review on Monday and then a test and essay assignment on Sundiata next week.
Then...we finally transition into our study of tragic heroes and Oedipus! :)
LDC3
In this class, we completed Unit 1: Mysteries, and the students worked on a review sheet for a couple of days. Today they took their 50-question test.
I'm excited because our next unit is on "Survival," and I'm going to teach Elie Wiesel's Night for the first time. I was nervous about teaching a new novel, but then I found this unit plan that comes complete with supplementary handouts and a daily guide to the lessons! YAY! I'm going to review this and start planning accordingly.
This teacher's daily plan got me thinking, though: Why don't I have daily plans for my units? Why have I never thought of doing something like that?! That would make planning so much easier. I could add or subtract as needed, but this would ensure that I don't forget something important, something that worked really well, or a necessary supplementary text that should be included in the lessons. These would also help me ensure that I stay on track (as much as possible) with that course's pacing guide. So, I've decided that I'm going to try to put these together this year as I go through each unit.
LA2
...and so on and so on. This is how I feel about LA2. Each chapter is the same: intro activites, read chapter, answer questions, activity workbook, grammar workbook, writing assignment, quiz. Each week is exactly the same. In that strict plan, though, there are small victories for each student. Today, I stood next to a student who was supposed to underline the letters that make the "f" sound in the word biography. Something wasn't clicking in her brain: she tried to underline the whole word, then she tried to write the letter "f" above the word, then she tried to re-write the word on the line next to it. Finally, after I pronounced the word v.e.r.y s.l.o.w.l.y, underlined the "ph" in the word, then pointed to the next word (elephant), and pronounced it "el-e-PHHHHHHHH-ant," she had one of those OHHHH! moments, and underlined the "ph" in that word and the 3 following words. That's what it's all about: taking the time to help them jump those little hurdles.
I wish the county would go back to regulating the size of ESL classes (esp. these lower levels) so more situations like this could happen. It's difficult to spend that kind of time with a student when all the rest are so needy.
JR AMER LIT
We are wrapping up our study of early explorers this week. The students have been working on open book test reviews, and they will take their test on Monday; then on Tues and Wed, they will work on their Unit 2 essay. Next Thurs and Fri, I'll give a presentation on Puritans. After that, we'll be deep into our study and Puritans, and we'll read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," which will lead us into The Crucible.
I thought I would have time this week to start looking at my plans for The Crucible, but LDC3 took up all of my planning time (review and test). So, next week, I'll take a look at my old materials and start planning my sequence of lessons for our study of the play. It's a great time of year when I am teaching Oedipus and The Crucible at the same time! :)
This week's the bad/the good:
The bad: I made the mistake of waiting until the end of the unit to make the test for LDC3. This took days of organization and creating during my planning time. I need to remember to make test questions as we go through each part of the unit. Since there is no plan for that class, I have to make everything myself. This year, I'm trying to establish some kind of curriculum so I don't have to recreat the class every year.
The good: I learned a lesson this week about controlling my temper. A few students in my LDC3 class were not seated at the bell, so I assigned each of them a 15 min detention (they'd been warned about this on several previous occasions). I heard one of the girls complaining, "She can't give us detention for no reason...." I turned to her and said, "It's not for 'no reason.' You've been warned and you know the rules." Now, I would have continued by saying what I was thinking, "I don't appreciate your eye rolls; if you'd put more thought to your studies than socializing...; maybe you don't understand that rules apply to you, too...." but another student called my name and had a valid question about the assignment for that day, so I turned to him. Later that period, one of the detention students asked if he could serve his time on Monday because he can stay on Fridays. I said yes, and the girl asked, "Oh, that's an option?"
Feeling better now that class was going smoothly, I jokingly said, "I don't know about you, because you gave me attitude. I think I deserve an apology."
The girl smiled sincerely and said, "I'm sorry Ms. Greene."
If I would have had the opportunity to let my emotions get the better of me, I would have embarassed the girl, and my whole day would have a black cloud hanging over it. Instead, we both learned lessons about appropriate behavior. (By the way, this story is embarassing to tell. I can't believe I'm still learning these things!)
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Teaching Proper Pair/Group Learning
In all of my classes, I'm trying to incorporate more pair or group learning. I've found, in some cases, that I'm having to teach my students how to work properly as a team. Most pairs/groups do very well. There have been those teams who do not perform well together. I've found two main reasons for this lack of productivity:
1. The individuals have a personal aversion to each other (for whatever reason), and do not want to work together.
2. The individuals are too friendly and get off task easily.
3. The individuals refuse to communicate because of lack of fluency with English, embarassment because of their language ability, etc.
4. The classic: one person does all the work and everyone else copies his/her paper.
In response to questions like: "Miss, can I work by myself?" or "Miss, can I switch partners or work with that group over there?" I've come up with 3 rules--The 3 C's of Team Work:
1. Communication (about the topic)
2. Cooperation (to stay on task)
3. Collaboration (to do the work)
If they do these 3 things within their team, they will be successful in the end. Plus, these three rules take care of all of the problems listed above! I tell them that they MUST learn to do things things to be successful English speakers and students. If I see a group not following the rules, I threaten them with a lower participation grade for that day. (I don't actually give participation grades, but the threat works anyway. LOL)
So, with that in mind, here's what's going on in my classes this week:
SOPH WORLD LIT
I thought we were moving into Oedipus the King, but I forgot that we have to do Sundiata and African proverbs first! So, this week the students took their test on Gilgamesh and "Noah," and were then introduced to the next unit: Epic Heroes and Tragic Heroes. Today and tomorrow, they are working in small groups (3 people), to learn about proverbs. In the text, there are 4-5 proverbs each for 6 different African countries. So, the students are choosing 1 proverb from each country, discussing what each means, and creating a table on poster paper to show their understanding of that proverb. On the table, they list: the proverb, their translation of the proverb (its lesson), and a picture to represent the lesson.
They are actually doing much better at the translations than I thought they would! It's been fun to listen to their conversations about phrases like: "One falsehood spoils a thousand truths." :) Their understanding of proverbs will assist them as we read Sundiata in this unit. The epic story teaches a couple of important lessons through the use of proverbs.
LA II
These students have been working on the usual textbook, activity book, grammar book, and writing assignments. Their focus on their work since the seat assignments has improved a bit, and I'm realizing that there are a few students whose language ability is FAR below most others in the class. Classes that contain students with such varied levels of ability are taxing on the teacher because 1/3 of the class is yelling out "Miss! Miss! Come here please!" because they have questions about improving their vocabulary, extending their sentences, and other big language concepts. Another 1/3 of the class is quietly on task, doing what is asked of them, making a few mistakes, and needing minimal guidance. The lower 1/3 of the class is yelling out "Miss! Miss! I don't get this!" or are sitting as quietly as possible so the teacher doesn't see that their assignment is all wrong because they had to write something--anything--just to look like they understood and could keep up with everyone else. It can get frustrating, and sometimes I catch myself getting irritated. But as soon as I think of how hard they are all trying, and the fact that they are at least on task, I can take a breath and focus on helping each student in the way he or she needs.
LDC III
This class did not do well on their prepositional phrases handout earlier in the week, so I handed back their graded papers and asked them all to do corrections on a separate piece of paper. But THIS TIME, they had to label the parts of speech in the preposition phrase (e.g. prep, article modifier, noun). I do not play when it comes to grammar. Especially when it's something basic like prepositions. Come on!
Anyhow, today the class separated into pairs to do an introduction activity to a supplemental text called "The Navajo." The handout asked them to look at different parts of the book (the title, TOC, headings, glossary...) and answer questions from that basic information. It was interesting to see how many students did not know what a "heading" was. These types of activities may seem basic, but are obviously necessary to help them learn/remember how much information is provided in texts.
There were a couple of pairs that weren't working well together, so I had to manage those situations and remind them about the rules of the 3 C's of Team Work. In the end, though, they all did a great job of completing the assignment as a team. Those who need a bit more practice will get it tomorrow because they'll continue working with their partner to read Chapter 1 aloud and complete a comprehension handout. :)
JR AMERICAN LIT
Students in this class will finish their autobiography projects this week and turn them in on Friday. Using Google Docs to help the students edit their work as they went turned out to be very successful. I was able to pinpoint recurring problems for various students and offer one-on-one tutoring to assist them and help them improve. For instance, one student had whole paragraphs that only included commas until the end of the paragraph! I sat her down and gave a brief run-down of proper punctuation for simple, compound, and complex sentence. Then, she looked at her own paragraphs and inserted appropriate punctuation where needed. Not all students particpated in the process, but that was their choice. Those who did participate were very excited about the opportunity to improve their writing by using the process of proofreading and revising.
As for the content of the class, we've been studying journals and narrative accounts of the earliest explorers and settlers to North America. The texts contain somewhat antiquated language, so I've given students the adapted versions from the Reader's Guide text companion. These are great because there are questions that make the students analyze sections of text as they read. It slows them down, and forces them to focus. Right now, they are working on of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford: his narrative account about the journey on the Mayflower and their first experiences in the New World. Next week, we'll finish this unit with a slave narrtive by O. Equiano. This is one that the students often have strong reactions to because Equiano was such an impressive person and talented writer. Even today, his descriptions of his experiences get the students talking about how unfair it was for Equiano and others like him!
This Week's The Bad/The Good:
The Bad: I am SO TIRED of telling students to sit down in their chairs, get out their materials, and be ready to start class when the bell rings. Even if I am standing at the front of the room, obviously ready to speak, students don't seem to understand the cues and continue walking around, carrying on conversation, stuffing their faces with chips/candy, etc. I've had to start handing out detentions for people who aren't seated at the ring of the bell! I told them: "The bell is not a magical sound that only teachers can hear. You hear it, too. It's more for you than for me, so be seated and ready to learn as soon as you hear it!" So aggrivating!!!
The Good: I've had quite a few former students contact me or stop by in the past couple of weeks. One sent me a Facebook message that said: "You were the best teacher I ever had. I know that now. And I regret sleeping so much in your class." LOL :) Well, at least he finally learned the lesson, right? A couple others have stopped by just to talk about their lives and how things are going. Others have contacted me for letters of recommendation for jobs or college. On days when my CLASSES are not going so well, these are the things I should think of because being a Lit/ESL teacher is not just about teaching content. It's also about caring for these individuals and being another adult who helps guide them.
1. The individuals have a personal aversion to each other (for whatever reason), and do not want to work together.
2. The individuals are too friendly and get off task easily.
3. The individuals refuse to communicate because of lack of fluency with English, embarassment because of their language ability, etc.
4. The classic: one person does all the work and everyone else copies his/her paper.
In response to questions like: "Miss, can I work by myself?" or "Miss, can I switch partners or work with that group over there?" I've come up with 3 rules--The 3 C's of Team Work:
1. Communication (about the topic)
2. Cooperation (to stay on task)
3. Collaboration (to do the work)
If they do these 3 things within their team, they will be successful in the end. Plus, these three rules take care of all of the problems listed above! I tell them that they MUST learn to do things things to be successful English speakers and students. If I see a group not following the rules, I threaten them with a lower participation grade for that day. (I don't actually give participation grades, but the threat works anyway. LOL)
So, with that in mind, here's what's going on in my classes this week:
SOPH WORLD LIT
I thought we were moving into Oedipus the King, but I forgot that we have to do Sundiata and African proverbs first! So, this week the students took their test on Gilgamesh and "Noah," and were then introduced to the next unit: Epic Heroes and Tragic Heroes. Today and tomorrow, they are working in small groups (3 people), to learn about proverbs. In the text, there are 4-5 proverbs each for 6 different African countries. So, the students are choosing 1 proverb from each country, discussing what each means, and creating a table on poster paper to show their understanding of that proverb. On the table, they list: the proverb, their translation of the proverb (its lesson), and a picture to represent the lesson.
They are actually doing much better at the translations than I thought they would! It's been fun to listen to their conversations about phrases like: "One falsehood spoils a thousand truths." :) Their understanding of proverbs will assist them as we read Sundiata in this unit. The epic story teaches a couple of important lessons through the use of proverbs.
LA II
These students have been working on the usual textbook, activity book, grammar book, and writing assignments. Their focus on their work since the seat assignments has improved a bit, and I'm realizing that there are a few students whose language ability is FAR below most others in the class. Classes that contain students with such varied levels of ability are taxing on the teacher because 1/3 of the class is yelling out "Miss! Miss! Come here please!" because they have questions about improving their vocabulary, extending their sentences, and other big language concepts. Another 1/3 of the class is quietly on task, doing what is asked of them, making a few mistakes, and needing minimal guidance. The lower 1/3 of the class is yelling out "Miss! Miss! I don't get this!" or are sitting as quietly as possible so the teacher doesn't see that their assignment is all wrong because they had to write something--anything--just to look like they understood and could keep up with everyone else. It can get frustrating, and sometimes I catch myself getting irritated. But as soon as I think of how hard they are all trying, and the fact that they are at least on task, I can take a breath and focus on helping each student in the way he or she needs.
LDC III
This class did not do well on their prepositional phrases handout earlier in the week, so I handed back their graded papers and asked them all to do corrections on a separate piece of paper. But THIS TIME, they had to label the parts of speech in the preposition phrase (e.g. prep, article modifier, noun). I do not play when it comes to grammar. Especially when it's something basic like prepositions. Come on!
Anyhow, today the class separated into pairs to do an introduction activity to a supplemental text called "The Navajo." The handout asked them to look at different parts of the book (the title, TOC, headings, glossary...) and answer questions from that basic information. It was interesting to see how many students did not know what a "heading" was. These types of activities may seem basic, but are obviously necessary to help them learn/remember how much information is provided in texts.
There were a couple of pairs that weren't working well together, so I had to manage those situations and remind them about the rules of the 3 C's of Team Work. In the end, though, they all did a great job of completing the assignment as a team. Those who need a bit more practice will get it tomorrow because they'll continue working with their partner to read Chapter 1 aloud and complete a comprehension handout. :)
JR AMERICAN LIT
Students in this class will finish their autobiography projects this week and turn them in on Friday. Using Google Docs to help the students edit their work as they went turned out to be very successful. I was able to pinpoint recurring problems for various students and offer one-on-one tutoring to assist them and help them improve. For instance, one student had whole paragraphs that only included commas until the end of the paragraph! I sat her down and gave a brief run-down of proper punctuation for simple, compound, and complex sentence. Then, she looked at her own paragraphs and inserted appropriate punctuation where needed. Not all students particpated in the process, but that was their choice. Those who did participate were very excited about the opportunity to improve their writing by using the process of proofreading and revising.
As for the content of the class, we've been studying journals and narrative accounts of the earliest explorers and settlers to North America. The texts contain somewhat antiquated language, so I've given students the adapted versions from the Reader's Guide text companion. These are great because there are questions that make the students analyze sections of text as they read. It slows them down, and forces them to focus. Right now, they are working on of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford: his narrative account about the journey on the Mayflower and their first experiences in the New World. Next week, we'll finish this unit with a slave narrtive by O. Equiano. This is one that the students often have strong reactions to because Equiano was such an impressive person and talented writer. Even today, his descriptions of his experiences get the students talking about how unfair it was for Equiano and others like him!
This Week's The Bad/The Good:
The Bad: I am SO TIRED of telling students to sit down in their chairs, get out their materials, and be ready to start class when the bell rings. Even if I am standing at the front of the room, obviously ready to speak, students don't seem to understand the cues and continue walking around, carrying on conversation, stuffing their faces with chips/candy, etc. I've had to start handing out detentions for people who aren't seated at the ring of the bell! I told them: "The bell is not a magical sound that only teachers can hear. You hear it, too. It's more for you than for me, so be seated and ready to learn as soon as you hear it!" So aggrivating!!!
The Good: I've had quite a few former students contact me or stop by in the past couple of weeks. One sent me a Facebook message that said: "You were the best teacher I ever had. I know that now. And I regret sleeping so much in your class." LOL :) Well, at least he finally learned the lesson, right? A couple others have stopped by just to talk about their lives and how things are going. Others have contacted me for letters of recommendation for jobs or college. On days when my CLASSES are not going so well, these are the things I should think of because being a Lit/ESL teacher is not just about teaching content. It's also about caring for these individuals and being another adult who helps guide them.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Piles, Piles and Piles
We are in the 5th week of the school year, and my desk perpetually has 5-6 piles of papers covering it. Of course, I know what is in each pile. But when my department chair came into my classroom this morning, I felt momentarily embarrassed by my "lack of organization." To make matters worse: continuously repeating in my mind are the words of one of my colleagues who dropped a nugget of advice on me at the Literacy Institute this summer: "To teach as long as I have (40 years!), you have to be organized. If you look disorganized, the kids see it, and it affects their respect for you and what you do." ...Yikes.
I am generally a very thorough grader, but I often do hand back papers long after I should have. Sometimes, when a stack has been sitting on my desk for way too long (a week and a half to two weeks), I know I'm never going to take the time to grade it with care, so I just slap a check or check minus at the top of it and hand it back to the kids, or I give up and toss it in the recycle box. For sanity's sake, though, it's ok that the students sometimes get the practice without a grade. The really important papers are graded promptly and carefully, but those keep multiplying faster than I can keep up!
Here's what's going on in my classes this week:
SOPH WORLD LIT
We finished our study of Gilgamesh and Noah, and the students worked on their compare/contrast essays on "the flood story." I haven't graded these yet, but this will be the first sample of these students' essay writing ability. As I grade them, I will have a better idea about what we need to focus on in our writing practice. The students have also been working on an open book/note test review that is provided by the textbook publisher. These are higher-level thinking questions, and require the students to answer a multiple choice question about the text and then provide evidence to support the answer they've chosen. I really like these. The students sometimes get frustrated because the questions are harder than the questions in the book, but I offer as much assistance as I can and even let them work in pairs. Furthermore, the students had to (as I mentioned in my previous post) use the key words of our "word wall" in a paragraph explaining what they learned in this unit, and they had to come up with 10 questions that would make good test questions for this material. To help them prepare even more, I put a list of materials they should study over the weekend. Monday is their test (I guess I should finish making that, huh?!) and Tuesday we'll start the next unit.
LA 2
This class received a new seating chart this week. On an Activity Workbook assignment, most of the class scored 40's-low 60's. They are constantly off task, talking in their native languages, and disruptive of each others' learning. So, I moved them to seats that I felt would separate the talkers, combine those who wanted to practice their English with speakers of other languages, and isolate those who constantly disrupt others. They've been in these seats for about 3 days now, and it is working wonderfully! There are 2 girls in particular (one from the Ivory Coast and one from Peru) who have the highest grades and are the most motivated to learn English. I placed them next to each other, and my heart just about burst when I saw how well they were working together today! :) I will continue to work with this class on their behavior and patience with the language.
LDC 3
This week, we read a chapter in the Visions C book called "The Mystery of the Cliff Dwellers," and informative text about an ancient Native American culture. The students completed all required work for the chapter (adding to the piles on my desk! LOL), and I wanted something fun that they could do to practice their essay writing skills. So, I went to the Media Center and picked up 8 books on ancient cultures (Aztecs, Amazons, Romans...). Then, at the beginning of class, I walked them through the basic organization for an essay (components of an Intro, Body, and Conclusion) and told them, "You are going to pretend that you and your small group of 3-4 people are researchers who have to write a professional report on an ancient culture that you'd been studying. So, flip through your book, find a few things about the culture that you think are interesting, and follow the essay format to write your report." The students liked that they got to choose which culture they wanted (though, there were some fights over who got Ancient Egypt!), and they worked really well, explaining to each other and talking about the different parts of an essay. They'll finish the assignment on Monday, and we'll see how this introduction to essay writing went for them. :)
JR AMERICAN LIT
As we enter our study of the earliest explorers and settlers in American history, I showed the students and introductory slide show presentation about the 3 forms of travel books we'll study in this unit: journal, narrative account, and slave narrative. As I talked about Christopher Columbus, John Smith, Jamestown, Plymouth, and early slave trade, the students were happy to chime in with facts they'd already learned in their American History classes. They asked some interesting questions, too!: "If Columbus thought he was in Asia, how could he have named his book 'Journal of the First Voyage to AMERICA'?" I'd honestly never even thought about that before. LOL Whenever the students ask questions and I don't know the answer, I tell them: "You find out, report back to me, and I'll give you 5 points extra credit." So far, at least 4 students have earned extra credit, and the students are interested in asking questions! They know the question has to stump me, though (and I know almost everything! haha!), so it has become a little competative. We'll move through this unit in a couple of weeks' time and lay the foundations for the next unit on Puritanism.
This Week's The Bad/The Good:
The Bad: I had to deal with the rare occasion when my personal strife began to affect my attitude in the classroom. Because I was dealing with personal unhappiness and frustration (which I'm blessed to say doesn't happen very ofen in my life), I felt myself being short with the students, being frustrated with my performance, and being negative toward everyone around me. It was a struggle to bury that the best I could and try to be nice, supportive, and keep a smile on my face. What performers we sometimes have to be. It was exhausting!
The Good: I am really please with how the new seating chart is working out for my LA 2 students. I hope they continue to stay focused and pratice patience when learning something new. They are so quick to feel frustrated and give in to distraction at this level of English ability. I'll continue to encourage them and assist them so they'll feel more motivated to do better.
I am generally a very thorough grader, but I often do hand back papers long after I should have. Sometimes, when a stack has been sitting on my desk for way too long (a week and a half to two weeks), I know I'm never going to take the time to grade it with care, so I just slap a check or check minus at the top of it and hand it back to the kids, or I give up and toss it in the recycle box. For sanity's sake, though, it's ok that the students sometimes get the practice without a grade. The really important papers are graded promptly and carefully, but those keep multiplying faster than I can keep up!
Here's what's going on in my classes this week:
SOPH WORLD LIT
We finished our study of Gilgamesh and Noah, and the students worked on their compare/contrast essays on "the flood story." I haven't graded these yet, but this will be the first sample of these students' essay writing ability. As I grade them, I will have a better idea about what we need to focus on in our writing practice. The students have also been working on an open book/note test review that is provided by the textbook publisher. These are higher-level thinking questions, and require the students to answer a multiple choice question about the text and then provide evidence to support the answer they've chosen. I really like these. The students sometimes get frustrated because the questions are harder than the questions in the book, but I offer as much assistance as I can and even let them work in pairs. Furthermore, the students had to (as I mentioned in my previous post) use the key words of our "word wall" in a paragraph explaining what they learned in this unit, and they had to come up with 10 questions that would make good test questions for this material. To help them prepare even more, I put a list of materials they should study over the weekend. Monday is their test (I guess I should finish making that, huh?!) and Tuesday we'll start the next unit.
LA 2
This class received a new seating chart this week. On an Activity Workbook assignment, most of the class scored 40's-low 60's. They are constantly off task, talking in their native languages, and disruptive of each others' learning. So, I moved them to seats that I felt would separate the talkers, combine those who wanted to practice their English with speakers of other languages, and isolate those who constantly disrupt others. They've been in these seats for about 3 days now, and it is working wonderfully! There are 2 girls in particular (one from the Ivory Coast and one from Peru) who have the highest grades and are the most motivated to learn English. I placed them next to each other, and my heart just about burst when I saw how well they were working together today! :) I will continue to work with this class on their behavior and patience with the language.
LDC 3
This week, we read a chapter in the Visions C book called "The Mystery of the Cliff Dwellers," and informative text about an ancient Native American culture. The students completed all required work for the chapter (adding to the piles on my desk! LOL), and I wanted something fun that they could do to practice their essay writing skills. So, I went to the Media Center and picked up 8 books on ancient cultures (Aztecs, Amazons, Romans...). Then, at the beginning of class, I walked them through the basic organization for an essay (components of an Intro, Body, and Conclusion) and told them, "You are going to pretend that you and your small group of 3-4 people are researchers who have to write a professional report on an ancient culture that you'd been studying. So, flip through your book, find a few things about the culture that you think are interesting, and follow the essay format to write your report." The students liked that they got to choose which culture they wanted (though, there were some fights over who got Ancient Egypt!), and they worked really well, explaining to each other and talking about the different parts of an essay. They'll finish the assignment on Monday, and we'll see how this introduction to essay writing went for them. :)
JR AMERICAN LIT
As we enter our study of the earliest explorers and settlers in American history, I showed the students and introductory slide show presentation about the 3 forms of travel books we'll study in this unit: journal, narrative account, and slave narrative. As I talked about Christopher Columbus, John Smith, Jamestown, Plymouth, and early slave trade, the students were happy to chime in with facts they'd already learned in their American History classes. They asked some interesting questions, too!: "If Columbus thought he was in Asia, how could he have named his book 'Journal of the First Voyage to AMERICA'?" I'd honestly never even thought about that before. LOL Whenever the students ask questions and I don't know the answer, I tell them: "You find out, report back to me, and I'll give you 5 points extra credit." So far, at least 4 students have earned extra credit, and the students are interested in asking questions! They know the question has to stump me, though (and I know almost everything! haha!), so it has become a little competative. We'll move through this unit in a couple of weeks' time and lay the foundations for the next unit on Puritanism.
This Week's The Bad/The Good:
The Bad: I had to deal with the rare occasion when my personal strife began to affect my attitude in the classroom. Because I was dealing with personal unhappiness and frustration (which I'm blessed to say doesn't happen very ofen in my life), I felt myself being short with the students, being frustrated with my performance, and being negative toward everyone around me. It was a struggle to bury that the best I could and try to be nice, supportive, and keep a smile on my face. What performers we sometimes have to be. It was exhausting!
The Good: I am really please with how the new seating chart is working out for my LA 2 students. I hope they continue to stay focused and pratice patience when learning something new. They are so quick to feel frustrated and give in to distraction at this level of English ability. I'll continue to encourage them and assist them so they'll feel more motivated to do better.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Open House AKA Extra Planning Time
As an ESL teacher, I've become used to the fact that "Open House" night is an extra 2-3 hours I spend at school in the evening planning lessons for the next couple of weeks. Parents just don't show up. At best, I get 3-4 of my students, and 2-3 of my advisees. That's about it. I understand that there is a lot keeping ESL parents from the school in the evening, but it's just another example of how very little parents are involved in school these days. Those numbers also speak to the amount of parent contacts I get during the year, too.
Anyhow, I'm definitely going to plan out the next month of lessons for all 4 of my courses as soon as I finish typing this! :) At least that will get me well-organized for the next few weeks, and it will be less stress on me.
Here's what's going on in my classes:
SOPH WORLD LIT
We are just about finished with Gilgamesh and Genesis. I'm doing something new this year: I've separated my units into sequential themes and put up a poster-sized paper that says, "How It All Began: An Archetypal Foundation." On that poster, I've put words like "Archetype" "Epic" "Tragic Flaw" "Immortality" "Flood"... Yes, it's like a word wall. As a review before the test next week, I'm going to ask the students to define these words the best they can from memory, and then use them all to write a long paragraph explaining what we studied with these two stories. :) They'll hate it, but it'll be SO good for them! Tomorrow, they'll start planning for their Utnapishtim/Noah compare/contrast essay. That way, when they get back from Labor Day weekend, they'll have their brainstorming and notes all ready to go!
We are all kind of excited to be moving past this period of literature, though. It's exciting at first, but it gets old very quickly. Next up: Oedipus...and I ROCK at Oedipus. :) (The kids like it, too, which is always a plus!).
LDC 3
We are just finishing our unit on Mystery. We read a Sherlock Holmes story from one of the novel adaptations the ESL dept. has. It was "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." The kids took notes and were little detectives as they read. As previously posted, they used detective story terms, and followed the clues. We even talked about plot and used Jim Burke's plot diagram and the students' notes to map out the plot of the story. We had some good discussions about rising action and climax. I was able to clarify some things for the students, and some of them made observations about how inaccurate plot maps are because the "climax is NEVER in the MIDDLE of the story. It's always near the end!" Very astute. :)
I'm not sure what our next unit will be, but I've found that these students (all freshman) are in great need of some writing skills. I'll be introducing them to DOL and chunk writing very soon. :) Mwahahahahahahahaha!
LA 2
This class is adorable. Most of the kids are hard workers, and my 2 trouble students have been removed from the class, so it goes much smoother now. My worst problem is all of the talking! These kids are so quick to start up side conversations! I've been able to tamp it down as of late, though, by sending one student in particular to do her work outside when needed; and walking around the whole time to help individuals as needed.
The students haven't figured out how to study for the quizzes I give them (if they'd only take my advice and study 2 specific documents each time, they'd be all set!), but they'll learn soon enough.
JR AMERICAN LIT
We just concluded our unit on Native American literature (origin myths) and the students did relatively well. There were a few disappointments with the unit test, but it was expected. I'm a hard tester because I give them the same tests any other CP (and sometimes Honors) students would get. They'll catch on, and they'll be that much more prepared for the Graduation Test and End of Course Test at the end of the year.
From here, we move into the early explorers and Puritans--one of my favorite units to teach because we do The Crucible, and it is WONDERFUL. :) This is a huge class, and they're pretty rowdy, so I'm hoping they keep it together enough to focus and enjoy. I can always tell them that we won't watch the movie if they misbehave...that always does the trick. Ha!
Meantime, these students are still working on their autobiographies every Friday in the computer lab. Using Google Docs so they can share their documents, and I can edit and comment online has presented some challenges; but it's been an overall useful tool.
This Week's The Bad/The Good
The Bad: Even though I'm getting my 7 hrs of sleep each night, I'm starting to still feel tired in the morning. Has the school year already worn me down?
The Good: My students asked me why I smile when I "try to be mean." I guess this means--even though I get irritated with them--I'm still having fun. :)
Anyhow, I'm definitely going to plan out the next month of lessons for all 4 of my courses as soon as I finish typing this! :) At least that will get me well-organized for the next few weeks, and it will be less stress on me.
Here's what's going on in my classes:
SOPH WORLD LIT
We are just about finished with Gilgamesh and Genesis. I'm doing something new this year: I've separated my units into sequential themes and put up a poster-sized paper that says, "How It All Began: An Archetypal Foundation." On that poster, I've put words like "Archetype" "Epic" "Tragic Flaw" "Immortality" "Flood"... Yes, it's like a word wall. As a review before the test next week, I'm going to ask the students to define these words the best they can from memory, and then use them all to write a long paragraph explaining what we studied with these two stories. :) They'll hate it, but it'll be SO good for them! Tomorrow, they'll start planning for their Utnapishtim/Noah compare/contrast essay. That way, when they get back from Labor Day weekend, they'll have their brainstorming and notes all ready to go!
We are all kind of excited to be moving past this period of literature, though. It's exciting at first, but it gets old very quickly. Next up: Oedipus...and I ROCK at Oedipus. :) (The kids like it, too, which is always a plus!).
LDC 3
We are just finishing our unit on Mystery. We read a Sherlock Holmes story from one of the novel adaptations the ESL dept. has. It was "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." The kids took notes and were little detectives as they read. As previously posted, they used detective story terms, and followed the clues. We even talked about plot and used Jim Burke's plot diagram and the students' notes to map out the plot of the story. We had some good discussions about rising action and climax. I was able to clarify some things for the students, and some of them made observations about how inaccurate plot maps are because the "climax is NEVER in the MIDDLE of the story. It's always near the end!" Very astute. :)
I'm not sure what our next unit will be, but I've found that these students (all freshman) are in great need of some writing skills. I'll be introducing them to DOL and chunk writing very soon. :) Mwahahahahahahahaha!
LA 2
This class is adorable. Most of the kids are hard workers, and my 2 trouble students have been removed from the class, so it goes much smoother now. My worst problem is all of the talking! These kids are so quick to start up side conversations! I've been able to tamp it down as of late, though, by sending one student in particular to do her work outside when needed; and walking around the whole time to help individuals as needed.
The students haven't figured out how to study for the quizzes I give them (if they'd only take my advice and study 2 specific documents each time, they'd be all set!), but they'll learn soon enough.
JR AMERICAN LIT
We just concluded our unit on Native American literature (origin myths) and the students did relatively well. There were a few disappointments with the unit test, but it was expected. I'm a hard tester because I give them the same tests any other CP (and sometimes Honors) students would get. They'll catch on, and they'll be that much more prepared for the Graduation Test and End of Course Test at the end of the year.
From here, we move into the early explorers and Puritans--one of my favorite units to teach because we do The Crucible, and it is WONDERFUL. :) This is a huge class, and they're pretty rowdy, so I'm hoping they keep it together enough to focus and enjoy. I can always tell them that we won't watch the movie if they misbehave...that always does the trick. Ha!
Meantime, these students are still working on their autobiographies every Friday in the computer lab. Using Google Docs so they can share their documents, and I can edit and comment online has presented some challenges; but it's been an overall useful tool.
This Week's The Bad/The Good
The Bad: Even though I'm getting my 7 hrs of sleep each night, I'm starting to still feel tired in the morning. Has the school year already worn me down?
The Good: My students asked me why I smile when I "try to be mean." I guess this means--even though I get irritated with them--I'm still having fun. :)
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
So Far, Group Work is Working!
As mentioned in previous posts, my motto for this school year is "More on them, less on me." I'm putting the students in the driver's seat of their own learning. I'll be there as the driver's ed instructor who occasionally needs to take the wheel. Keeping this in mind as I plan lessons, I've used quite a few different forms of group work during these first couple of weeks of school. Here are some of the best examples:
JR American Lit:
In the first unit, we learn about origin myths from Native American Indians. There are three myths in the textbook, and even though they are short tales, they are quite dense. So, for our study of The Navajo Origin Lesson, I put the students into small groups of 4-5, they took turns reading the tales aloud, and then they created a flow chart for the steps of the Navajo ritual they learned about. It was wonderful to walk around between the groups and hear the students instructing each other on which pictures to draw, descriptions to include, and the order in which the events happened. They were teaching each other while I walked around and clarified things like "ear of corn" ("No, don't draw ears"). The students were proud of the posters they created, and hung them on the wall at the back of the classroom. Some even corrected other groups: "You forgot the part when...". Those are some of my favorite moments as a teacher: when they correct each other on the content. :)
LDC 3:
In this class, the unit we're studying focuses on mystery. We have an Illustrated Classics edition of some Sherlock Holmes stories, and I'd like us to read one or two. To introduce the students to the elements of a detective story, though, I used some of the handouts and ideas from this lesson called Ingredients of a Mystery. After I inroduced the students to some of the vocabulary, they worked together in small groups to fill out the "Detective Case Report" handout with their own ideas for a detective mystery. Then, they had to work as a team to come up with all of the details for the story. Listening to their ideas has been fun, and watching them carefully construct a story with all of the necessary elements has been fun. They'll have to use a lot of structure later, so I might as well get them used to it now! :)
All other classes are going well. I'm allowing them to work in partners/small groups more with daily assignments. ELL students are generally so needy that I buzz around the room all day answering questions, so if they can help each other out, that saves me a trip across the room! I'm still up and moving all period, every period, though.
One student said to me today: "Miss, what they say about you is true."
I thought, oh lord!, but I asked: "What's that?"
"That you make us read...A LOT!" she said.
"Well, that's true. But you have a lot to learn." I replied.
"Yeah, that's true, too." she smiled.
I think they see what I'm trying to do for them, and they appreciate it. I haven't had any complaints so far, and have even had a few compliments and thank you's. ...So, I'll just keep doing what I think is best. :)
JR American Lit:
In the first unit, we learn about origin myths from Native American Indians. There are three myths in the textbook, and even though they are short tales, they are quite dense. So, for our study of The Navajo Origin Lesson, I put the students into small groups of 4-5, they took turns reading the tales aloud, and then they created a flow chart for the steps of the Navajo ritual they learned about. It was wonderful to walk around between the groups and hear the students instructing each other on which pictures to draw, descriptions to include, and the order in which the events happened. They were teaching each other while I walked around and clarified things like "ear of corn" ("No, don't draw ears"). The students were proud of the posters they created, and hung them on the wall at the back of the classroom. Some even corrected other groups: "You forgot the part when...". Those are some of my favorite moments as a teacher: when they correct each other on the content. :)
LDC 3:
In this class, the unit we're studying focuses on mystery. We have an Illustrated Classics edition of some Sherlock Holmes stories, and I'd like us to read one or two. To introduce the students to the elements of a detective story, though, I used some of the handouts and ideas from this lesson called Ingredients of a Mystery. After I inroduced the students to some of the vocabulary, they worked together in small groups to fill out the "Detective Case Report" handout with their own ideas for a detective mystery. Then, they had to work as a team to come up with all of the details for the story. Listening to their ideas has been fun, and watching them carefully construct a story with all of the necessary elements has been fun. They'll have to use a lot of structure later, so I might as well get them used to it now! :)
All other classes are going well. I'm allowing them to work in partners/small groups more with daily assignments. ELL students are generally so needy that I buzz around the room all day answering questions, so if they can help each other out, that saves me a trip across the room! I'm still up and moving all period, every period, though.
One student said to me today: "Miss, what they say about you is true."
I thought, oh lord!, but I asked: "What's that?"
"That you make us read...A LOT!" she said.
"Well, that's true. But you have a lot to learn." I replied.
"Yeah, that's true, too." she smiled.
I think they see what I'm trying to do for them, and they appreciate it. I haven't had any complaints so far, and have even had a few compliments and thank you's. ...So, I'll just keep doing what I think is best. :)
Monday, August 15, 2011
1st Week Back: My Feet Are Killing Me!
This has been the smoothest 1st week back to school that I can remember. All of my preparations during preplanning really paid off, and classes have run nicely. Thanks to my seating charts, I know almost all of my new students' names, and I already have 2-3 grades for the students in each class. About the only thing that is bothering me so far is the fact that my feet ache horribly by mid-day. I know that some teachers take house shoes to wear in the classroom, but I feel like only teachers who are 50+ can pull that off in an endearing way. If I did it, I feel like a slob. :) So, I'll suffer for the sake of professionalism.
A few thoughts about my classes:
Language Arts Level II--my seating chart has proven ineffective in this class. Of course, class goes smoother when students who feel comfortable with each other can sit near each other and/or work together. What is interesting is that 5 of 17 students there are mostly using Spanish to communicate, and the other Hispanic students have requested to be moved away from them so they can practice their English with the Asian and French-speaking students. So, the left side of my classroom is made up of a very wide variety, while the right side has 5 Hispanic students. As they all feel more comfortable with each other, I'll mix them up again. For now, I'm going to learn more about each of them and their levels of English ability.
Junior American Lit--my evil 6th period class and my heavenly 1st period class from last year have both combined into 7th period JR LA. This class is a non-stop chatter box. I've decided to work with it, though, and give the students plenty of work that is group-work friendly. That way, they can interact with each other, but if they don't get their work done, it's on them. I fought 6th period to the very end of last year, so I know that it's futile to try to mold them into quiet, studious, attentive pupils. They are an unfortunate mix of loud, hyper, attention-seeking individuals, and this year I'm putting all of the responsibility on them. One-on-one, each of them is awesome. Put them together, though, and it's a 55-minute "Let me top that!" routine.
Sophomore World Lit--I have some repeaters in these classes, so it's been fun to find out how much they remember from last year. :) They actually remember quite a bit from the story of Gilgamesh so far, which only reinforces the fact that they failed more from laziness and incomplete work than a lack of learning. Hopefully, they'll apply themselves more this year. The new students seem interested in what we're learning so far. Sometimes I wonder if I break down the information too much, but so far we've had good discussions about archetype, epics, and the plot of Gilgamesh. I'm going to walk them through annotating a text tomorrow using the Ladybug projector I mentioned in a previous post. I'm not sure yet how to make them understand what it means to engage a text...I'm hoping I'll have a stroke of genius in the shower or something before I get to school in the morning. :)
Language Development Content 3--I've been using the Visions: Level C text for these students, but I can tell that it's a little too easy for some of them. The good news is I'll be teaching Night soon since freshmen LA classes study the novel, and I'm charged with teaching all FR LA supplementals to my LDC 3 class. A couple of teachers at school have offered to help me out with the materials for Night and a couple of other texts since I've never taught them before. I always hear good things from ESOL students about Night, though, so I'm excited to teach it. Hopefully, it will go well....
Well, I'm already behind in my grading, and we're only one week in! :) It's alright, though. I'd rather be a little behind than fall into bringing work home in the evening.
This week's The Good & The Bad
The Good: A student who other students have nicknamed "The Sleeper" was transferred from my class. I have only harbored chronic dislike for a student once before, but this one has made my list. The reasons go back almost a year (long story), but it's just such a relief that I don't have to look at him anymore.
The Bad: Did I mention my feet? :(
A few thoughts about my classes:
Language Arts Level II--my seating chart has proven ineffective in this class. Of course, class goes smoother when students who feel comfortable with each other can sit near each other and/or work together. What is interesting is that 5 of 17 students there are mostly using Spanish to communicate, and the other Hispanic students have requested to be moved away from them so they can practice their English with the Asian and French-speaking students. So, the left side of my classroom is made up of a very wide variety, while the right side has 5 Hispanic students. As they all feel more comfortable with each other, I'll mix them up again. For now, I'm going to learn more about each of them and their levels of English ability.
Junior American Lit--my evil 6th period class and my heavenly 1st period class from last year have both combined into 7th period JR LA. This class is a non-stop chatter box. I've decided to work with it, though, and give the students plenty of work that is group-work friendly. That way, they can interact with each other, but if they don't get their work done, it's on them. I fought 6th period to the very end of last year, so I know that it's futile to try to mold them into quiet, studious, attentive pupils. They are an unfortunate mix of loud, hyper, attention-seeking individuals, and this year I'm putting all of the responsibility on them. One-on-one, each of them is awesome. Put them together, though, and it's a 55-minute "Let me top that!" routine.
Sophomore World Lit--I have some repeaters in these classes, so it's been fun to find out how much they remember from last year. :) They actually remember quite a bit from the story of Gilgamesh so far, which only reinforces the fact that they failed more from laziness and incomplete work than a lack of learning. Hopefully, they'll apply themselves more this year. The new students seem interested in what we're learning so far. Sometimes I wonder if I break down the information too much, but so far we've had good discussions about archetype, epics, and the plot of Gilgamesh. I'm going to walk them through annotating a text tomorrow using the Ladybug projector I mentioned in a previous post. I'm not sure yet how to make them understand what it means to engage a text...I'm hoping I'll have a stroke of genius in the shower or something before I get to school in the morning. :)
Language Development Content 3--I've been using the Visions: Level C text for these students, but I can tell that it's a little too easy for some of them. The good news is I'll be teaching Night soon since freshmen LA classes study the novel, and I'm charged with teaching all FR LA supplementals to my LDC 3 class. A couple of teachers at school have offered to help me out with the materials for Night and a couple of other texts since I've never taught them before. I always hear good things from ESOL students about Night, though, so I'm excited to teach it. Hopefully, it will go well....
Well, I'm already behind in my grading, and we're only one week in! :) It's alright, though. I'd rather be a little behind than fall into bringing work home in the evening.
This week's The Good & The Bad
The Good: A student who other students have nicknamed "The Sleeper" was transferred from my class. I have only harbored chronic dislike for a student once before, but this one has made my list. The reasons go back almost a year (long story), but it's just such a relief that I don't have to look at him anymore.
The Bad: Did I mention my feet? :(
Friday, August 5, 2011
Ah...A Whole Week of Preplanning!
I don't even know how many years it's been since teachers in my district were allowed a full week of preplanning. With furloughs being the newest, most popular way for school systems to save money, planning days are often the ones to be cut. So, we've had to accomplish (or do what we could) in 2 days what usually takes 5.
This year, I feel READY! :) My biggest "to-do" items where:
1. Plan at least 2 weeks for each class, implementing some of the new ideas I got from the Literacy Institute and other professional learning this summer.
2. Make seating charts for each class
3. Fit enough desks into room for largest class
4. Organize room so I'm ready to go on first day
Among all of the other chores, tasks, meetings, and required activities I did this week, I accomplished all of these big tasks as well! Even better, I planned the entire month of August for both my World Lit and American Lit classes; AND was able to arrange my seating charts so that almost no one is sitting next to more than one person who speaks the same languages as he or she does! This will be a huge help in the lower-level English language classes. I already feel so much better about this year than I did about last year.
A colleague and I were talking today, and we agreed that we are going to be more positive this year. We both had pretty challenging experiences last year and refuse to repeat the anger, frustration, and depression. We agreed that if we say something negative about work, we have to say 2 positives as well. :)
This morning, the last day of preplanning, we were treated to a presentation by Mr. John Antonetti. I wish there was a video clip online of him speaking, because he is one of the most engaging and relevant speakers on education I've heard. His comments and stories were honest and moving, and he had the whole crowd laughing the entire time. The focus of his presentation was on engagement: that students aren't going to pay attention to something they don't have an emotional connection to or a personal experience that relates. So, we have to present the material in such a way that makes it relevant and then allow them time to FIND those connections. He said so many interesting things that I took pages and pages of notes! I'm sure I'll refer to him again in future posts.
Incidentally, my motto for this year (More on them, less on me.) goes along very well with this year's focus in my district on student engagement. Huzzah!
On a different note, I am super excited about a new addition to the Media Center: the Ladybug Lumens. I've wanted one of these since my first year of teaching when one of the presenters at my county's "New Teacher Orientation" used one. I've already checked it out to use on the first day to show my levels 2 & 3 students examples of an activity they'll complete. More importantly, though, I'm going to use it to teach my SOPH and JR level students how to annotate their texts. So, I'll make copies of certain texts that will be especially challenging or dense, and we'll work through it together (with Ladybug's help!) to annotate, discuss, and make sense of it!
Honestly, I can't wait to get started. :)
This year, I feel READY! :) My biggest "to-do" items where:
1. Plan at least 2 weeks for each class, implementing some of the new ideas I got from the Literacy Institute and other professional learning this summer.
2. Make seating charts for each class
3. Fit enough desks into room for largest class
4. Organize room so I'm ready to go on first day
Among all of the other chores, tasks, meetings, and required activities I did this week, I accomplished all of these big tasks as well! Even better, I planned the entire month of August for both my World Lit and American Lit classes; AND was able to arrange my seating charts so that almost no one is sitting next to more than one person who speaks the same languages as he or she does! This will be a huge help in the lower-level English language classes. I already feel so much better about this year than I did about last year.
A colleague and I were talking today, and we agreed that we are going to be more positive this year. We both had pretty challenging experiences last year and refuse to repeat the anger, frustration, and depression. We agreed that if we say something negative about work, we have to say 2 positives as well. :)
This morning, the last day of preplanning, we were treated to a presentation by Mr. John Antonetti. I wish there was a video clip online of him speaking, because he is one of the most engaging and relevant speakers on education I've heard. His comments and stories were honest and moving, and he had the whole crowd laughing the entire time. The focus of his presentation was on engagement: that students aren't going to pay attention to something they don't have an emotional connection to or a personal experience that relates. So, we have to present the material in such a way that makes it relevant and then allow them time to FIND those connections. He said so many interesting things that I took pages and pages of notes! I'm sure I'll refer to him again in future posts.
Incidentally, my motto for this year (More on them, less on me.) goes along very well with this year's focus in my district on student engagement. Huzzah!
On a different note, I am super excited about a new addition to the Media Center: the Ladybug Lumens. I've wanted one of these since my first year of teaching when one of the presenters at my county's "New Teacher Orientation" used one. I've already checked it out to use on the first day to show my levels 2 & 3 students examples of an activity they'll complete. More importantly, though, I'm going to use it to teach my SOPH and JR level students how to annotate their texts. So, I'll make copies of certain texts that will be especially challenging or dense, and we'll work through it together (with Ladybug's help!) to annotate, discuss, and make sense of it!
Honestly, I can't wait to get started. :)
Friday, July 22, 2011
OK, so I'm still here.
About a year ago, I made my last post highlighting my frustrations and disappointments with the teaching profession. Well, I stuck it out and by 2nd semester, I found a "new groove" to keep up with having four preps and ever-growing classes. I won't go into details about that...I'm sure it will be clear as I post throughout this year. I'm going to try to post once a week again to reflect on my highlights and failures.
This week, I spent three days with my county's Literacy Institute: a professional development opportunity for exploring how to improve multiple literacies in students. Among the speakers was Mr. Jim Burke. Anyone familiar with language arts education knows what a big deal this man is. :) It was great to hear him speak, and what I took away from him was the importance of giving students choices on how they show their understanding of a concept or their ability with a skill. And for EVERY assignment, to move students through lower to higher level thinking--even with something as simple as a worksheet. After they fill in the blanks, have them write questions or observations in the margins. Then, have them write a paragraph in response to what they've learned through the worksheet.
Another speaker was Stephanie Harvey, and from her presentation I took away the importance of offering the students time to interact. The best way to comprehend and remember is to discuss what you are learning. DUH! But so much of the time, I fear giving students the chance to interact because I don't want them to swerve off topic. Then I lose 5 more minutes of class time just getting everyone settled again. If it's something they get used to, though, it will become a seamless part of class time. She says that she talks, they read, or they watch for 5-7 minutes, and then everything stops so the students can turn and talk or write a quick response, question, or reflection on what they are learning. This sounds wonderful! I can't wait to implement it in my class.
The final speaker of the conference was Alan Sitomer. This man was a born performer and educator. It was a pleasure to hear him speak, and so empowering to hear him acknowledge the fact that so many of us teachers live in a culture of fear these days. He reminded us that we became teachers because we love our subject area and we wanted to help students. He emphasized that we need to focus on that and continue to have fun with what we do. It seems so simple, but it's exactly what I needed to hear. :) Sitomer also inspired me to use more technology in my classroom, which is probably going to be the subject of quite a few posts. I sat in on a class that day that taught us about taking our students through the writing process using technology. I didn't understand much of it, but I bought a copy of The Digital Writing Workshop by Troy Hicks and have already learned so much! I'll have my kids using wikis, blogs, and social bookmarking in no time!
I'm looking forward to the new year again, and it's a great feeling. Stay tuned....
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Burnout: it's not just for race cars.
This week, I posted this sentiment on my Facebook page: "I refuse to put this much effort into something that so few people truly appreciate, especially when I'm worth so much more." I am ready for a change. Teaching has never been what I thought it would be, to be sure. However, I was passionate and excited enough to overlook the constant disappointments, lack of respect, and overwhelming heap of responsibilities because I cared about helping my students. I put my job and everything that comes with it first, and put myself and my family last because I am often too tired or distracted to enjoy being at home. Following my parents' example, I try not to bring work home with me so I can enjoy my time with those who mean the most to me in this world. So, I go in to work an hour early every morning, and I stay 1-3 hours after work every day (without a minute of overtime pay, but I'll get to that later). After that, any work that is left undone (papers that needed grading, lesson plans that needed organizing, copies that had to be made, emails that went unanswered) constantly weighs on my mind and prevents me from fully enjoying my time away from school. Why should it be that way? I've slowly become more efficient in accomplishing these necessary elements of my job, but still constantly have things that are left undone or unfinished.
I am still unwilling to sacrifice my personal time for work, though. Why should I? To be a good teacher, we are told that we should follow the examples of the likes of Ron Clark (The Ron Clark Story) and Erin Gruwell (The Freedom Writers) and put aside our own needs and interests to complete focus on our students. While these individuals are amazing teachers, their personal lives are in ruins. To be a good teacher, we are told to look at the overtime we put in as our "professional responsibility" and to not complain that we don't get paid for all of the extra hours we put in. I'll admit, I have it easier than others. As an ESOL teacher, I teach no more than 100 students per day while there are teachers who teach closer to 150 students a day. With growing class sizes, more non-teaching responsibilities, less pay than expected, a decrease in maturity and sense of responsibility in the students, diminishing (if at all existent) parent involvement, and more pressure to deliver top results under these conditions, it's no wonder that I am feeling burned out!!!!
I was recently telling a friend about how disappointed I was this year to not feel excited about coming to work. I am usually extremely excited on the first day back to school, and I pretty much stay excited because I enjoy most of the lessons I get to teach. This year truly feels like work, though. I wasn't excited about the first day of school; instead I felt weighted down by the anticipation of everything for which I would be held responsible. I'm not excited about teaching my lessons; instead, I feel overwhelmed and scatterbrained by trying to prepare for 4 different classes of the 5 classes I teach in a day. I'm not excited about seeing any particular class or students; instead, I feel like they all need to learn better manners, responsibility, and self-control. (Believe me those "gem students" are become a severe minority in the classroom.)
Nevertheless, I put all of my effort into the lessons I teach, I am energetic and supportive during classtime, I treat each student as an important member of the class, and I try accomplish what is expected of me by my school and my county each and every day. It's the only way I know how to be. That is exactly why, however, I know it is time for a change.... I'm putting all of myself into something out of which I receive very little payoff, return, or fulfillment.
That being said, I'm starting to consider my options. I am an intelligent, quick-thinking, well-spoken, independent, motivated, organized, confident woman (Yeah, I said it!). I put all of my heart and effort into helping others, teaching others, and taking care of others. However, as Suze Orman has taught me, I refuse to give myself away. I'm not going to allow myself to do a job in which I constantly feel like a failure when I know I'm not. I'm not going to continue to work for pay that is less than what I deserve.
Teachers make up the majority of the work force in this country, and there are plenty of them who simply come to school and do the bare minimum to get paid. I can't be like that. It goes against everything that I believe about work ethic, job performance, and personal responsibility. So, to prevent myself from being taken advantage of and from become something that I hate, it's time for me to consider moving on. For now, I am one of those teachers who comes to school to do as much as she can to facilitate learning. I earn my meagre pay; and I don't expect people to praise me for doing my job, to get a special award for helping my students learn, or to become famous for my creative ideas and teaching methods. I just want to work under conditons that are fair and to be paid what I am worth. And yeah, I want to enjoy my job!
As they say in education, you never leave because of the kids. It's always the other stuff.... That other stuff is starting to affect me so much that I don't even want to think about writing about my classes this week. So, for now, I'm just another teacher complaining about her job. Those of you who truly know me must know, then, how deep my frustration must be.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Things They Sometimes Teach Me
Seeing Improvement is a Wonderful Thing
D___ is a student who is taking my class for the second time because he failed SOPH LA last year. An extremely likeable person, his quick wit often helps him make friends but does little to keep him on task in class. Until the very last few weeks of school last year, I thought he would turn his grades around. He has the intelligence to do well, but lacked the motivation. So far this year, however, he is doing MUCH better. He is one of my top participants in class, he is consistently turning in his assignments, and he is doing high quality work.
The other day, D___ came to class and said, "Ms. Greene, there was a show on NAT GEO last night about Gilgamesh. They wre comparing his story about the flood to Noah in the Bible, and were doing a test to see if he could really build a boat using the measurements from the story and if it would work."
"We're going to be comparing those two stories, too! Did you watch the whole program?" I replied and asked.
"Yeah, Miss. It was pretty interesting."
If D___ finds it interesting enough to watch the entire program, then I think it will be good to show the rest of the class. I went on National Geographic's website and found the program: Search for Noah's Ark. It's on again tomorrow (9/31) and the Media Center is going to tape it for me so I can view it and hopefully use it in class during our study of the similarities and differences between these two stories of the flood. I was so impressed with D___'s motivation that I gave him extra credit for watching and telling me about this program. :)
Teacher Tip
My singular most important purchase for the new school year was my first-ever E-Z Grader! I haven't had one before this year because I always forgot to purchase one with my "Sonny Money" purchases and would never go back to get one since I resent spending my own money on school supplies. After wishing I had one many times last year, I made up my mind to get one this year. At the end of July, I went to The School Box, and made one purchase: my new E-Z Grader. This $6.99 investment has made grading a breeze! If you don't have one, get one!
I'm noticing that my students in LAII (level 2 English) are anxious for more opportunity to practice their spoken English. I need to foster that motivation in them. Most of them actually have very good English pronunciation, and can read in English very well. There are 2 or 3 students who are quite far behind the others, but that's true in every class. Hopefully, they'll be inspired to work harder. This week, since we've been reading stories about challenges, I think I'll have these students write a short story (with a graphic organizer of course) about a challenge they've faced. I'll hook them up with partner to practice reading their stories out loud. Then, they'll have to read in front of the whole class.
As for my SOPH LA class, we are continuing our study of Gilgamesh and, as noted above, will be moving toward a compare/contrast essay between flood stories. On a very good note: my 6th period class is not as evil as they were a week or so ago. One of the most disruptive students in that class has separated herself from the rest of the class to the table in my room. ...a step in the right direction! I'm starting to warm up to them a little, though I did have to call one of the students out on copying work and then lying about it.
The hardest part of this year so far: trying to stay organized and ahead of the game while trying to keep up with 4 preps. I feel overwhelmed and confused sometimes trying to keep so many different classes straight. Making sure I have all of my copies, class notes, assignments, activities, quizzes and tests, and supplements in order is never done; and I usually forget 1 or 2 things. I don't like that. :(
Monday, August 23, 2010
I Hate My 6th Period!
The Class from Hell
I'm sure that I've had issues with a class period in the past, but none of that matters when I feel the frustration that I do towards my 6th period SOPH LA class. This class has a variety of age groups in it (one of the poor souls is a very mature senior), but the majority of the students are new sophomores. Until recently, they were rambunctious freshman who ran their teachers ragged with all of their energy and lack of focus. I am definitely not used to dealing with such immaturity and expect my students to conduct themselves like young adults. So, I've been trying to figure out what to do about this particular class that doesn't seem to know how to stay on topic, focused, or quiet.
Today, I'm rearranging their seats for the 2nd time to see if that will help. I've made notes about which students seem to get off task and talk to each other. Those students will be separated. I've also put out a stack of detention forms, ready to fill out if I have to speak to any one student more than once. Since they seem to have difficulty staying on task during our daily grammar warm-ups, I'm going to tell them that if they don't stay quiet and get it done, I'm just going to count that day wrong on their weekly grade.
This class has made me so upset that I don't even want to talk about school when people ask me how it's going. When my 7th period class arrives at the end of the day, they look at me and ask things like, "Miss, what's wrong? Is it your 6th period again?" I am visibly worn out and upset to my 7th period students! That is not acceptable, and I need to change it.
Other Things...Happier Topics
Some thoughts I had last week:
1. I need to stop lying to myself when I think I'll do grading or planning over the weekend. It's just not going to happen, so I need to be sure to get all of this done by Friday before I leave for the weekend.
2. Dr. Scholl's inserts are a miracle. For the first time in 2 weeks, my feet aren't killing me; and I can move my toes without my foot going into a cramp! Thank you, Dr. Scholl!
3. I must make all of my copies for the following week by Friday before I leave for the weekend. Oftentimes, I'll leave them until Monday morning thinking, "No one else will be at the copy machine." Inevitably, there is always something to do at the last minute on Monday morning, so I need to limit the number of factors as much as possible.
4. Now that I am only teaching ESOL classes, I can move at a little slower pace. I used to have to rush my ESOL students to somewhat keep up with my regular students (for my own sanity). I need to remember things like: don't try to give verbal information while they are copying notes--they can't process both at once; and stop more frequently while reading text out loud in class to assess comprehension and ensure understanding.
Individual Class Activities
SOPH LA: This week, the students were introduced to Ancient Middle Eastern Literature. They did comprehension questions for the unit introduction, looked at some picture books for ancient Mesopotamia and Sumeria, and viewed a Ms. Greene original PPT that introduced the Epic of Gilgamesh. I feel like I rushed through my beautiful PPT, though. I must remember to take it a bit slower. Maybe next year, I'll have the students read the slides aloud before I embelish.
JR LA: We read all 4 of the Native American origin myths in the text and had some great conversation about them. To help them pay attention to the details of the Navajo Origin Myth (see a similar version here), the students worked for 2 days on storyboards of the myth. It was pretty difficult for many of them because of the specific colors, directions, and movements. In the end, though, I think they saw how important it is to focus on the details. Some of them have some great artistic ability, too!
LDC III: For speaking day this week, we played Talking Cards. The students loved the game, and I learned a lot about each of them through it. They asked if we could play again sometime, and I promised that if we had free time one day, we'd play it again. This class also went to the Media Center to choose their silent reading books. To my surprise, many of the students were excited about picking their own books! A couple had never checked books out from a library before, and that's always a special experience to witness. :) On Friday, we started reading the parallel text of Romeo & Juliet. Some of them had already read it last year (and were bored), but each of them had a part to read aloud, and we made it through Act I, Scene i.
LA II: This class is pretty easy because I just follow the schedule laid out by Visions. This week, we read a story about a journey through Antarctica. We've been learning new vocab words, practicing grammar, learning writing skills, and pronouncing words aloud. This group seems especially interested in improving their English, so I think I'm going to have to veer off from the Visions curriculum sometimes and do more verbal activities. I picked up some flashcards from the $1 section at Target. They are for phonics, sight words, and rhyming. I gave each of the students 2 phonics cards each and they had to pronounce all of the words on each card. They did this with very little effort. So, I'm going to have to kick it up a notch somehow.
I'm sure that I've had issues with a class period in the past, but none of that matters when I feel the frustration that I do towards my 6th period SOPH LA class. This class has a variety of age groups in it (one of the poor souls is a very mature senior), but the majority of the students are new sophomores. Until recently, they were rambunctious freshman who ran their teachers ragged with all of their energy and lack of focus. I am definitely not used to dealing with such immaturity and expect my students to conduct themselves like young adults. So, I've been trying to figure out what to do about this particular class that doesn't seem to know how to stay on topic, focused, or quiet.
Today, I'm rearranging their seats for the 2nd time to see if that will help. I've made notes about which students seem to get off task and talk to each other. Those students will be separated. I've also put out a stack of detention forms, ready to fill out if I have to speak to any one student more than once. Since they seem to have difficulty staying on task during our daily grammar warm-ups, I'm going to tell them that if they don't stay quiet and get it done, I'm just going to count that day wrong on their weekly grade.
This class has made me so upset that I don't even want to talk about school when people ask me how it's going. When my 7th period class arrives at the end of the day, they look at me and ask things like, "Miss, what's wrong? Is it your 6th period again?" I am visibly worn out and upset to my 7th period students! That is not acceptable, and I need to change it.
Other Things...Happier Topics
Some thoughts I had last week:
1. I need to stop lying to myself when I think I'll do grading or planning over the weekend. It's just not going to happen, so I need to be sure to get all of this done by Friday before I leave for the weekend.
2. Dr. Scholl's inserts are a miracle. For the first time in 2 weeks, my feet aren't killing me; and I can move my toes without my foot going into a cramp! Thank you, Dr. Scholl!
3. I must make all of my copies for the following week by Friday before I leave for the weekend. Oftentimes, I'll leave them until Monday morning thinking, "No one else will be at the copy machine." Inevitably, there is always something to do at the last minute on Monday morning, so I need to limit the number of factors as much as possible.
4. Now that I am only teaching ESOL classes, I can move at a little slower pace. I used to have to rush my ESOL students to somewhat keep up with my regular students (for my own sanity). I need to remember things like: don't try to give verbal information while they are copying notes--they can't process both at once; and stop more frequently while reading text out loud in class to assess comprehension and ensure understanding.
Individual Class Activities
SOPH LA: This week, the students were introduced to Ancient Middle Eastern Literature. They did comprehension questions for the unit introduction, looked at some picture books for ancient Mesopotamia and Sumeria, and viewed a Ms. Greene original PPT that introduced the Epic of Gilgamesh. I feel like I rushed through my beautiful PPT, though. I must remember to take it a bit slower. Maybe next year, I'll have the students read the slides aloud before I embelish.
JR LA: We read all 4 of the Native American origin myths in the text and had some great conversation about them. To help them pay attention to the details of the Navajo Origin Myth (see a similar version here), the students worked for 2 days on storyboards of the myth. It was pretty difficult for many of them because of the specific colors, directions, and movements. In the end, though, I think they saw how important it is to focus on the details. Some of them have some great artistic ability, too!
LDC III: For speaking day this week, we played Talking Cards. The students loved the game, and I learned a lot about each of them through it. They asked if we could play again sometime, and I promised that if we had free time one day, we'd play it again. This class also went to the Media Center to choose their silent reading books. To my surprise, many of the students were excited about picking their own books! A couple had never checked books out from a library before, and that's always a special experience to witness. :) On Friday, we started reading the parallel text of Romeo & Juliet. Some of them had already read it last year (and were bored), but each of them had a part to read aloud, and we made it through Act I, Scene i.
LA II: This class is pretty easy because I just follow the schedule laid out by Visions. This week, we read a story about a journey through Antarctica. We've been learning new vocab words, practicing grammar, learning writing skills, and pronouncing words aloud. This group seems especially interested in improving their English, so I think I'm going to have to veer off from the Visions curriculum sometimes and do more verbal activities. I picked up some flashcards from the $1 section at Target. They are for phonics, sight words, and rhyming. I gave each of the students 2 phonics cards each and they had to pronounce all of the words on each card. They did this with very little effort. So, I'm going to have to kick it up a notch somehow.
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Beginning of a New Year
In General
This week has been a whirlwind of paperwork and getting the students on a routine. I know I've probably said this before, but when teachers complain about paperwork, we are NOT talking about grading papers. We are talking about other paperwork that would keep an assistant busy while we did all of the things that people normally associate with teacher work. Despite the chaos, I've had the best start to a new school year of my career!
World Lit
It's my goal to correlate my world lit class with the world history curriculum so my students have a better collective and individual store of prior knowledge of the cultures we study through the literature. My dept. chair, Ms. W, is the sheltered world hist teacher; she gave me a copy of that course's curriculum and a student copy of the textbook. As I started planning lessons for the class, I flipped through the first unit in the world hist book and saw that they learned about cave paintings as they began their study of the world's earliest civilizations. I thought: "What better way to start our unit on ancient literature than to have the students reenact the earliest form of story-telling!" So, I asked my students to think of a story that is passed down from parents to children in their culture, and to write down as much as they could remember of that story. I borrowed some transparencies of cave paintings from Ms. W--the same ones the students had seen in her class the day before--and we discussed what stories the pictures might be telling. I even mimicked some caveman grunting to illustrate for them that pictures were probably the most effective form of communication for these people. :) For the following 2 days, the students worked with acrylic paints, sponges, and paint brushes to recreate the message of the traditional story they chose. Next week, I'll post pics of some of their creations! They'll present their pictures to the class and tell the stories that go along with the pictures. After that, I'll use their stories to discuss oral tradition: stories that are passed through the generations by telling and retelling through spoken words.
So far for this course, my 1st period is doing well and are actually a lot of fun. They've been working hard, have cooperated, and have had a great sense of humor all week. My 6th period, though, saw Mean Ms. Greene today as I told them off for their immature behavior (a culmination of their misbehavior during the rest of the week. I actually had a student in that class come up to me and say, "Ms. Greene, you should do to these immature people what you did to me last year."
To which I jokingly asked, "What, A___, you mean take them outside and yell at them some more?"
"Yeah, Miss. Seriously. I'm glad I'm not like these kids anymore. When you explained what I was doing, I changed." I never gave him credit for it, but he did change. I guess it was a good lesson for him to learn.... (score 1 for discipline!) :)
LDC III
I've never taught this class before and am glad I'm not alone. Ms. W is teaching it also, and we've been collaborating on what to do. We've set up a schedule for each week: writing day, speaking day, vocab day, reading day, and Romeo & Juliet Friday. The LDC classes are meant as companion classes to the LA classes and LDC III goes with FR LA. However, the shelter teacher for that class found last year that she didn't have time to fit novels and plays into her schedule, so she asked us to pick up the slack. I can't teach these texts as I would for an LA class (frankly, that's not my responsibility), but this does give me the opportunity to make learning Shakespeare all about having fun. :)
This class has good kids in it. There is a nice mix of cultures, and it seems like everyone knows each other already and get along well. There's one boy who says he's probably the only Chinese student at our school. ...I'm pretty sure he might be right. LOL
LA II
This class is the 2nd level of English for our ESOL students. In the beginning, the most important thing I can do in these types of classes is assess the students' English ability. We've been working with simple past tense verbs, and I'm seeing that most of them are good with conjugating, but they are still having a bit of difficulty with sentence structure when it comes to making sentences negative past tense and asking questions in the past tense. So, we'll continue working on this next week before we move on to the next lessons. I was told that this class might be a handful because of a few particular students, but those students have been very sweet so far. A couple have actually been very helpful (collecting folders, putting books away...)!
American Lit
The curriculum for this class begins with Native American origin myths: stories that try to explain the how and why of natural phenomena. So, before we begin our study of these works, I had the students work in small groups to create their own origin myths for well-known natural occurrences like the Grand Canyon, Amazon River, and Sahara Desert. They worked on these for a couple of days.
One cool moment happened when I walked up to one group in the middle of what looked like a heated debate. I was worried that their creative differences would stall progress, so I went over to mediate. As I walked up, C____'s head whips around and she asks, "Miss! Wasn't it in Gilgamesh that the gods were so mad at humans that the sent a flood?!" (She studied Gilgamesh with me last year in World Lit.)
"Yes! It was!" I replied with a huge smile on my face.
"See, Miss! I remembered." Then she told her group, "We can't use that idea because someone already did." She was so proud of herself. This particular student has struggled with staying focussed in her classes and hasn't done as well as she could. I think this year will be different for her, though. :)
To start our study of Native American lit, I picked up a couple of illustrated books from the Media Center that show many aspects of N.A. life. I'm going to put together an activity this weekend so the students can use our textbook and these other books to become more familiar with the cultures from which these origin myths stem (a scavenger hunt or something similar). Then, they might appreciate the stories' themes and subjects a little better. I'm sure that they're learning about N.A.'s in American history, so this should build on that prior knowledge.
Final Thoughts
This first week has been tough: my feet are killing me, I am exhausted by 2:30PM, and I feel like there is only enough time in the day to move from one priority to the next before falling into bed at night. However, I know I am where I belong for now. When my students from last year and the year before (this is only my 3rd year at this school) come to visit me with smiles on their faces and ask if they can be in my class again, I know that everything I put them through while I have them (lectures about life, constant essay writing, taking tests that rival those given to honors students, and reading literature without giving in to complaints that it's just too hard or too stupid to read) is all for the best. They know I do it because I care.
This seems to be the secret ingredient to being a successful educator. Not only do you have to know what you are doing in your subject area. You have to care...with your whole heart. And, as stated above, sometimes you have to show that you care through stern words and a little harsh discipline. :)
Friday, August 6, 2010
Preplanning: the to-do list that never ends
This week, we had 3 days to prepare for the start of the new year. That's a whole lot to pack into 3 days!
1. Faculty, department, and team meetings
2. Unpacking and organizing classroom
3. Updating and copying class syllabi
4. Homeroom and 1st period paperwork
5. Textbook retrieval and scanning
6. Decorating classroom in a way that is stimulating for but also appealing to students
7. Legal briefings and training
8. What to do on those first few days
That's only what I can think of off of the top of my head. For every task we finish, there are at least 3-5 other items that are spur-of-the-moment requests from someone else: "Could you send me...?" "Will you email...?" "Can I get your help with...?" Not only are we getting ourselves ready, but we are also taking care of colleagues. It's what we do.
My Classroom
This year, I moved from my sweet little trailer way out yonder in the trailer park to a small classroom inside. I'm convenient to pretty much everything now, which makes me (and my feet) very happy. No longer will I have to plan an afternoon trek to make copies the next day, or make sure I have water and snack to tide me over during the long hike to the front office. I'll be in the middle of the action!
It took some rearranging of the furniture that was already in the room, but I think I've set up
my class in a way that will suit my teaching style. 3 of the rows of desks are facing front, and 4 of the rows are facing the door. This set up is a trick I learned from a colleague at my previous school to help make the room seem bigger. I've also set up a "creativity table" for those who aren't suited to traditional desks.
On the board are 4 taped boxes for my various classes. As always, I'll put daily assignments and reminders here. Even with the 4 boxes, I still have plenty of space for notes and activities! It is a big board!
I've also already posted my rules. I've found that these few rules have helped me manage my students' behavior and activity better than anything else. 6 simple rules:
1. Be prepared for class: Brain, Materials, Supplies
2. Absolutely no sleeping
3. Take responsibility for your actions
4. Don't make excuses. Create solutions.
5. Never mak
e fun of someone for not knowing something
6. Stay on task and on topic
I've found that all I have to do is give "the look" to a student, and they know that they've probably broken one of these 6 rules. I'm pretty easy like that, and it truly helps students to
know what your boundaries and expectations are. If I need to add a rule, I will. These 6 have worked for 3 years, though. :)
My Space
This will be my 6th year teaching, and I have never felt more confident about beginning a new school year. I truly feel like I can handle anything that comes my way because of my experience and my flexibility. I haven't made copies of my syllabi yet...but I'll get to it! I forgot to make seating charts, but I can do that when I get to school
early on Monday! I already have assignments ready and waiting for the students, and that's my main concern right now. I know how to prioritize the rest of what needs to be done.
As you can see, I've created a little fort for myself in my "teacher corner." :) I don't like students touching my stuff or invading my space, so I do what I can to clearly set up a "no-fly zone." I've already made myself comfortable, though, and am ready to get to work! Notice "Piggy" on the book shelf for Lord of the Flies, and the raven on my media cabinet for our study of Poe's poetry. These things are fun because when students look at them, they have an association with the literature we studied. I like it when something tangible can help them create stronger links to the reading. (On a side note: this is undoubtedly the neatest my desk will be ALL YEAR. LOL)
Student Space
Letting the students know that I have high expectations for them to be productive as well, I've set up a little "productivity corner" for them. Here, they can type, study, read, or take a break from the rest of the class while they think about how to make better choices. (I just thought up that last bit, but it fits with the corner set-up.) The calendar on the board is for students to announce their birthdays and special events. One of my SOPH LA students from last year has a birthday coming up in 3 weeks! He will be in my JR LA class this year, so I will get to wish him a happy birthday! :)
Well, that's just some of what I've been up to in these past 3 days. When I arrived at school on Wednesday, I was a little overwhelmed with everything I needed to do. Unpacking all of my boxes and setting up my classroom was a priority, though. When my surroundings are in order, my mind is at ease, and I am better able to focus. So, it looks like the year is off to a good start! I'll be making weekly postings about my 4 different classes (LA II, LDC III, SOPH LA, and JR LA), so stay tuned if you want to know more about what goes on in an ESOL classroom! :)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
End of the Year
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!
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 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.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Pressure to Perform and Intro to Steinbeck
As the students take their Gateway exams this week, I feel relieved to be done with the preparation for them. I honestly lost sleep over worrying about whether I was teaching them enough and giving them enough practice to do well. From what the students told me, their science and social studies teachers thought it sufficed to give the students 1 practice Gateway prompt the week before the test. They didn't even practice together - the students recieved the assignment and had to complete the essay. Which means (as always), the other core area teachers are relying on the language arts teachers to teach the majority of the test-taking skills. That's not OK, but I've accepted it as reality. Therefore, to follow up on the work my SOPH LA students did on their whole group essay (the one we wrote together on the overhead), I had them work individually on an essay to practice and refine those skills.
First, I gave them their new practice Science Gateway topic and a handout of the work we'd previously completed together. Then, each day, I asked them to complete a portion of the Gateway process on their own. Monday, they had to complete an outline of the topic they chose. Tuesday, they had to complete an introduction and 1st body paragraph; Wednesday-their 2nd and 3rd body paragraphs; and Thursday-their conclusion, Gateway Checklist, and final draft. On Friday, we used a rubric to peer review and comment on each other's essays.
This process was great! The students asked so many great questions, helped each other, and improved so much in such a short time. On their peer review rubrics, a couple of students even wrote comments like, "You did a great job, and I actually learned some things from reading your essay!" I am so proud of them all for working so hard, and the cool thing is that they actually seemed to enjoy being pushed to write well on difficult topics! No one complained about our prep work being "too hard," or "too much work." They were determined to do well, and I constantly reminded them that failure was not even an option. :)
I know that teaching my students to write chunk paragraphs and giving them so much practice was key to them learning to write a Gateway essay so quickly. Next year, I think I will introduce the chunk paragraphs at the beginning of the year, and will try to require a document-based essay for each unit. ...Of course I say that now, but it's always so hard to fit in everything we need to do.
The students have taken the Science/LA Gateway and will take the Social Studies/LA test tomorrow. Overall, they have told me that the practice we did in class really helped them on their tests. They said:
1.) They thought about me repeating "Hook, Background, Thesis" when writing their introduction paragraphs.
2.) Even if they didn't completely understand the topic, they remembered how I showed them how to highlight key words in the Scenario, Task, and Bullet points, and to use those key words to help them write their introduction.
3.) Writing the thesis was easy because they thought about using the Bullet points to create the main idea of their essays.
4.) They felt like they new exactly how to organize their essays so it made sense and flowed well.
To me, this is the best part of my job. The students rarely ever say "thank you" for teaching them something, but when they are excited to tell me that they thought of my class or something I said while they were completing their test, I know I did my job well. :)
I only wish I recieved results from these tests, too. I'd like to know how many of my students passed and how many failed. If they failed, I want to know why they failed so I know if I need to alter or abandon my strategies. I want my students to do well, but I also need to be told if they are doing well if I am going to be the best teacher I can be. Who do I talk to about that???
_________________________________________
My JR LA students have been introduced to Of Mice and Men, and (only one chapter in) they are already in love. I read each chapter aloud to them, and I do different voices for the characters: slow and high for Lenny, short and gruff for George, etc. The students laugh out loud at the funny parts and mummble audible "Aww's" when George is mean to Lenny. It's great. :)
Some of my JR LA students are also in my SOPH LA class, so they were Gateway testing yesterday. A couple of students stopped by my room at the end of the day yesterday and asked if we had read Chapter 2 in class while they were testing. When I said no, they were so happy and said they were wondering what will happen once George and Lenny get to the new ranch. I love teaching this novel....
Moment that Made me Smile:
R____, who I taught last year for LDC II (level 2 English Language), was hanging out in my trailer in between classes. He looked at my poster of Subordinating Conjuntions and asked, "Miss, what is a subornitating conjunshion?"
"A subordinating conjunction usually starts the dependent clause of a sentence."
His face became concentrated and his eyes focused while he thought. "And, a dependent clause can come at either the beginning or end of a sentence. Right?"
"Good, R____! Where did you learn that?" I was so excited that a level 3 English student would know such a thing!
"Um.... Lemme see. Ms. W___? No. She don't talk about grammar. Hmm... I think you, Miss. You taught me last year." He smiled.
"Well, then I'm very proud of you for remembering! That's impressive!" I beamed back.
He laughed and humbly but matter-of-factly said, "I know, Miss. I have to do my best because I want to go to college."
First, I gave them their new practice Science Gateway topic and a handout of the work we'd previously completed together. Then, each day, I asked them to complete a portion of the Gateway process on their own. Monday, they had to complete an outline of the topic they chose. Tuesday, they had to complete an introduction and 1st body paragraph; Wednesday-their 2nd and 3rd body paragraphs; and Thursday-their conclusion, Gateway Checklist, and final draft. On Friday, we used a rubric to peer review and comment on each other's essays.
This process was great! The students asked so many great questions, helped each other, and improved so much in such a short time. On their peer review rubrics, a couple of students even wrote comments like, "You did a great job, and I actually learned some things from reading your essay!" I am so proud of them all for working so hard, and the cool thing is that they actually seemed to enjoy being pushed to write well on difficult topics! No one complained about our prep work being "too hard," or "too much work." They were determined to do well, and I constantly reminded them that failure was not even an option. :)
I know that teaching my students to write chunk paragraphs and giving them so much practice was key to them learning to write a Gateway essay so quickly. Next year, I think I will introduce the chunk paragraphs at the beginning of the year, and will try to require a document-based essay for each unit. ...Of course I say that now, but it's always so hard to fit in everything we need to do.
The students have taken the Science/LA Gateway and will take the Social Studies/LA test tomorrow. Overall, they have told me that the practice we did in class really helped them on their tests. They said:
1.) They thought about me repeating "Hook, Background, Thesis" when writing their introduction paragraphs.
2.) Even if they didn't completely understand the topic, they remembered how I showed them how to highlight key words in the Scenario, Task, and Bullet points, and to use those key words to help them write their introduction.
3.) Writing the thesis was easy because they thought about using the Bullet points to create the main idea of their essays.
4.) They felt like they new exactly how to organize their essays so it made sense and flowed well.
To me, this is the best part of my job. The students rarely ever say "thank you" for teaching them something, but when they are excited to tell me that they thought of my class or something I said while they were completing their test, I know I did my job well. :)
I only wish I recieved results from these tests, too. I'd like to know how many of my students passed and how many failed. If they failed, I want to know why they failed so I know if I need to alter or abandon my strategies. I want my students to do well, but I also need to be told if they are doing well if I am going to be the best teacher I can be. Who do I talk to about that???
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My JR LA students have been introduced to Of Mice and Men, and (only one chapter in) they are already in love. I read each chapter aloud to them, and I do different voices for the characters: slow and high for Lenny, short and gruff for George, etc. The students laugh out loud at the funny parts and mummble audible "Aww's" when George is mean to Lenny. It's great. :)
Some of my JR LA students are also in my SOPH LA class, so they were Gateway testing yesterday. A couple of students stopped by my room at the end of the day yesterday and asked if we had read Chapter 2 in class while they were testing. When I said no, they were so happy and said they were wondering what will happen once George and Lenny get to the new ranch. I love teaching this novel....
Moment that Made me Smile:
R____, who I taught last year for LDC II (level 2 English Language), was hanging out in my trailer in between classes. He looked at my poster of Subordinating Conjuntions and asked, "Miss, what is a subornitating conjunshion?"
"A subordinating conjunction usually starts the dependent clause of a sentence."
His face became concentrated and his eyes focused while he thought. "And, a dependent clause can come at either the beginning or end of a sentence. Right?"
"Good, R____! Where did you learn that?" I was so excited that a level 3 English student would know such a thing!
"Um.... Lemme see. Ms. W___? No. She don't talk about grammar. Hmm... I think you, Miss. You taught me last year." He smiled.
"Well, then I'm very proud of you for remembering! That's impressive!" I beamed back.
He laughed and humbly but matter-of-factly said, "I know, Miss. I have to do my best because I want to go to college."
Monday, March 29, 2010
Gateway Prep and Prufrock Talk
For those of you who are not high school teachers in Gwinnett County, let me explain: the Gateway is a document-based essay exam given to all sophomore students. The test is given in three subject areas, and the tests are categorized as Social Studies/Langauge Arts and Science/Language Arts. The two essay exams are given on two separate days (Tues and Thurs). As you can see, the students are graded on their LA skills twice. Now, with as much writing as we do in LA, most students pass these portions of the tests with no problem. The only time my ESOL students have issues is when their English skills are still lower than expected for Sophomore students. Most students also pass the SS portion without much trouble. It is the Science portion that gives many students headaches. For many of them, it is difficult to write about science.
Thus, in my SOPH LA class, we are in the middle of Gateway prep. I actually enjoy teaching this unit because it's basically a culmination of everything I've been teaching the students about writing all year. So, it's cool to see all of their work come to fruition as they work on practice prompts, group-work essays, and individual-work essays. For the past week, we've been working on a group-work SC/LA practice test that has to do with Biology ("The Ecosystem and Food Webs"). I'm taking them through the entire process of Gateway testing. We began by looking through and reading the entire test (the students are given a scenario, 2 writing task choices with bullet-point topics, and a variety of documents to use as concrete detail), then we brainstormed in outline form how much they collectively new about both writing tasks so they could see how to visually assess which topic choice would be the best for them. Afterward, we reviewed the format of an introduction paragraph and got started with our writing!
I'm trying something new this year: as we group-write this essay, I'm projecting everything they do on the overhead screen from my laptop. That way, as students call out sentence ideas, revisions, or and questions, they see every change and every addition. Every day, they learn something new about what to do and what not to do. Plus, they are seeing the importance of revision...something they previously thought was the same as editing. I'm finding that it's one thing to tell students how to write well, but it's a whole other thing to show them how to write well. Of course, the success of this activity is yet to be seen, but I already feel confident in saying this is something I should continue to do in years to come.
The thing that makes this successful, in my opinion, is that I give students sufficient "wait time" as they are processing the Gateway topic, the information in their test packet, and what I say to them. If I ask them to think of a topic sentence for the first body paragraph, and to look to their thesis statement and writing task information for help, I'm not afraid to give them 1-2 minutes of wait time to get their thoughts in order. In our education classes, you know they always tell us how important wait time is, and it is so true! Many times, if students are silent, teachers think they need to fill the quiet with extra explanation or rephrasing. On the contrary, students often need us to just quiet down to let them think. :) It is the greatest feeling to set my students up with a task, give them a little bit of direction, and watch them come up with the answers or solutions themselves! When I know they can do it on their own, I know I have done my job.
...Not to leave out my JR LA class, today we began our study of T.S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Modernism is my absolute favorite literary period, and my students are always shocked to learn that it's the darkness, dispair, and disconnectedness that draws me to it. "But Miss, you are so nice! Why do you like such depressing things?" LOL I have no idea! To me, though, Eliot is tops. Once my students know that I would name my first-born Eliot (with one L, of course), they know that they better respect the poet's work.
To take them through "Prufrock," I give them two documents: a copy of the text and a handout that walks them through explicating the work stanza by stanza. On the copy of the text (by the way, yes, it is in their textbook; but you can't really study Eliot without marking up his texts!), they highlight and take notes on the imagery, simile, symbolism, and vocabulary he uses. This helps them better understand how the tenets of Modernism are exceptionally represented in this poem. On the handout, we answer questions about the text together.
Students are always overwhelmed by Eliot when they are first introduced to his work. So, it's always a bit of a bumpy start. By the end of explicating the first stanza, though, most of them are hooked and are taken in by the genius of this man's style. Of course, that always makes me very happy. :)
Student-Teacher Conversation:
"If there were any author who I would marry because of his genius, it would be Eliot."
"Miss, didn't you say that already about Langston Hughes?"
"No, D__. I have a crush on Mr. Langston Hughes, but that's different."
"Yeah right, Miss. You just say that every time so we'll treat the literature with respect. That's what you say right? 'I love this author's work, so treat it with respect.'"
"That's definitely what I say, D__. I'm glad you remember it." :)
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