I remember being nervous about this placement and freaking out
about it the night before I started. Now, my heart was breaking as I
pulled away from the parking lot Thursday afternoon. I had no idea
seven weeks could feel so long but so short; so brief, yet so
impacting.
It was my final week of teaching the NPC Mustangs. And it was a
bit of a crazy week, but it ended really well.
Monday I continued my stint of teaching (or supervising) all seven
classes (my cooperating teacher was training for leading a group of
students on a Europe trip later this spring, so I took over
supervising her French classes in addition to the English classes I
already was in charge of). The freshmen were simply finishing their
final drafts, so weren't too much of a problem. The seniors discussed
“Ozymandias,” and actually got into a lively discussion about
celebrities who, like the statue, had fallen from prideful heights.
It was encouraging to see them connecting to their homework and
having so much participation. Though Monday didn't prove too much of
a problem, I was ready to have my cooperating teacher back so I could
a) have a plan period again and b) to have someone to support me
after some challenges the previous week.
Then I got the text – she was stuck due to a canceled flight.
Having finished my unit, and not being sure of what unit was next, I
came up with a plan on the fly. The students took part in four
stations, each with a different Language Arts related activity. I was
proud of myself for thinking up this idea, and actually had a student
comment on how she was impressed as well. To add to the challenge,
Tuesday morning there was a two hour delay, so I had to plan for
shorter classes as well. Hey, if nothing else, I have definitely
learned to be flexible with my plans in this placement! Wednesday
marked the return of my teacher and a phase out of my duties in that
classroom.
The senior class, meanwhile, finished their Romanticism unit and I
wrote and administered my first full-blown test. I gave it on my
final day there; however, a very small percentage of my students
actually took the test that day. First of all, not everyone was
there, being the day before mid-winter break. Second, with so many
tests that day, they had been given the option by my cooperating
teacher to opt out until Tuesday. Those who did take the test did
okay; for those that didn't do as well, it was because they hadn't
taken responsibility for their studies. I felt had given them the
supports needed; they had received a study guide and gone through a
review activity, and the questions came straight from that. I also
asked those who were there to fill out a post-assessment about their
feelings and impressions of the unit; however, with so few in the
room with me, I didn't get a good representation of the class's
reactions.
My final day was a good way to end. I had brought candy and wrote
the class notes. In the freshmen classes we also had cookies to
share. I wish I had been able to say goodbye to more of the seniors
and staff members, but many students did come and express their
appreciation and say goodbye to me. Now, I just have papers – loads
of papers – to grade before I head off to Illinois on Sunday to
start my second placement with the Central Middle School Twisters.
This placement at NorthPointe was incredible. Never before have I
felt so supported by the staff as a whole in a placement, and
especially supported by my cooperating teachers. I also felt
connected to each of the students, and have many fond memories, funny
stories, and lessons learned that I take away as I leave this
placement. I didn't know when I began just how much these seven weeks
would mean to me. It really felt like a place I belonged; I was a
staff member, I was trusted, and the students really became my
students. I come away from this
placement with more confidence for the future, with things to
continue to work on, and a greater love for what I'm doing. Now, on
to the next step and the next lessons God has in store for me. But I
am incredibly grateful for all the blessings he showered on me
through this time at NorthPointe.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Week 6 - The week of laughter and challenges
This week I wore a football jersey, and the next day my arm was in a sling. Then I encountered one of my freshman boys wearing a coconut bra (on top of a shirt) and a grass skirt. Finally, my classes became a sea of blue and yellow. No, nothing was wrong. It was homecoming week at NorthPointe.
Once again, it was an abnormal week. Thankfully, this time it wasn’t because of snow days (although a five day week this semester really does seem abnormal). However, in most cases, the fun dress-up days didn’t affect the learning.
Once again, let’s take a brief review of what went on this week:
Class of 2014
The Romanticism continued in the senior class. Monday was a little rough; I don’t think I’d assign “Kubla Khan” again other than the kids had to laugh at how crazy it was. The next two days were a lot better. I had found an audio recording of “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (a poem I really love), and so during class we played that while reading, which not only saved my voice but made it more alive than I probably could have. There were three different actors, and the man who read the mariner was superb. Anyway, we stopped it occasionally and I would ask questions or explain something a little further. The students had a couple of assigned questions those nights, but overall it was more relaxed of a week for them. Plus there was pretty good participation during class. I was pleased with this choice, though, and would probably use it again if I teach “Rime.” Additionally, it aligns with Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 6J, which states that the competent teacher “selects, modifies, and uses a wide range of printed, visual, or auditory materials, and online resources appropriate to the content areas and the reading needs and levels of each student (including ELLs, and struggling and advanced readers).” I know that often my cooperating teacher reads the poems, because he thinks the students understand it better when they hear it; I haven’t read all the poems, because I give them the option of listening to the videos I put on a website for them during homework. However, I would agree it helps students understand poetry to hear it read by someone who knows the poem already. Further, there are some ESL foreign exchange students in the class, and this aid is probably very useful for them.
We ended the week with Byron. Friday they had an end of the day assembly, shortening every period, and the students were antsy for the big day, so the lesson didn’t go as well as expected. However, I did still get across all I had hoped and the students have been asking good questions that show they’re thinking deeper than the surface about some of these lines.
Another thing I’m pleased about is the rapport I have with some of the seniors, especially fifth hour. I went to the Calvin vs. NorthPointe game Tuesday, and sat in the middle. The next day, the students were talking about seeing me and asking my opinion about the game. Then several of them asked if I would come to the homecoming game (I couldn’t this time). I’ve also been able to use some of their slang or stories that I know they can relate to when trying to explain some of the concepts of the poems, which they seem to appreciate.
My goals for the final four days:
- edTPA, edTPA, edTPA: I’ve started work on these tasks, but the next two lessons are part of the segment I planned for the edTPA. So now I just have to try to keep that in mind in my planning, hoping to get the required parts into the lesson and good footage of some of the insights students have been having prior to bringing the camera into the classroom.
- Continue to make connections: As I finish, I’m really trying to emphasize those connections between poems and between their lives and the poems. I don’t want these poems to just be something isolated - they interact with the same themes we’ve studied, the same topics, and moreover students can still pick up on some of the themes in today’s society. Thus, I hope to continue to demonstrate these connections
- Finish strong: I have two more lessons to teach, a review day, and a test to give. Though I’m starting to feel like coasting lesson-wise, having all the work done for this week already, I know to make the lessons successful I can’t coast yet. I have to keep reviewing my lessons, keep thinking about what to add or build on from day to day. Then I want to see the students finish strong too, and hopefully demonstrate their knowledge and learning on the test Thursday.
Class of 2017
The freshmen had a lot of working time this week. We had one more lesson on Monday, but after that it was working on their rough drafts. However, they didn’t always make it easy on me this week. Some students didn’t even have their research complete. Others had finished their research, only to realized they’d only used internet sources, when we told them a number of times, and wrote it in the requirements on the website and in hard copy form, they could only use two. Then, there were the behavior issues. Without my teacher in the room at the end of this week, some of the students seemed to try to take advantage of that and see what they could get away with. Some of how I handled it I feel good about; however, the steps I took probably wasn’t enough for some of them. But it did give me examples to build on, and I was able to formulate plans for handling those situations the next time they arise, and implement them. This is what student teaching is for, in some respects; to try out some of what works now, while I’m still being supported.
I really only have two days left to teach most of my freshmen students, since most of them have final drafts due Tuesday. I may end up still teaching Tuesday; my teacher is currently out of the country, so I don’t know if she has plans for Tuesday. For these last two days, my goals include:
- Keep a lid on it: I need to work to control a couple of the students who are challenging my authority and slacking off. This is my test on classroom management. Now that I know some of what behaviors they’re exhibiting, I can figure out what to do about it.
- But don’t let others slip through: Even while I manage some of the troublemakers, I have to also be supportive of those who are working, which is pretty much everyone else. I don’t want those who are being good students, but want some assistance, to slip by
- Finish strong here too
I still don’t really want to leave these students at the end of this week. I do miss Trinity, and my friends there. I miss dorm life. But I don’t feel it was near enough time with these students. If we could just move Trinity to Michigan, or NPC down to Trinity, that’d be great. Yet, I am interested to see where this next placement leads, and what challenges, rewards, and lessons it brings.
Once again, it was an abnormal week. Thankfully, this time it wasn’t because of snow days (although a five day week this semester really does seem abnormal). However, in most cases, the fun dress-up days didn’t affect the learning.
Once again, let’s take a brief review of what went on this week:
Class of 2014
The Romanticism continued in the senior class. Monday was a little rough; I don’t think I’d assign “Kubla Khan” again other than the kids had to laugh at how crazy it was. The next two days were a lot better. I had found an audio recording of “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (a poem I really love), and so during class we played that while reading, which not only saved my voice but made it more alive than I probably could have. There were three different actors, and the man who read the mariner was superb. Anyway, we stopped it occasionally and I would ask questions or explain something a little further. The students had a couple of assigned questions those nights, but overall it was more relaxed of a week for them. Plus there was pretty good participation during class. I was pleased with this choice, though, and would probably use it again if I teach “Rime.” Additionally, it aligns with Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 6J, which states that the competent teacher “selects, modifies, and uses a wide range of printed, visual, or auditory materials, and online resources appropriate to the content areas and the reading needs and levels of each student (including ELLs, and struggling and advanced readers).” I know that often my cooperating teacher reads the poems, because he thinks the students understand it better when they hear it; I haven’t read all the poems, because I give them the option of listening to the videos I put on a website for them during homework. However, I would agree it helps students understand poetry to hear it read by someone who knows the poem already. Further, there are some ESL foreign exchange students in the class, and this aid is probably very useful for them.
We ended the week with Byron. Friday they had an end of the day assembly, shortening every period, and the students were antsy for the big day, so the lesson didn’t go as well as expected. However, I did still get across all I had hoped and the students have been asking good questions that show they’re thinking deeper than the surface about some of these lines.
Another thing I’m pleased about is the rapport I have with some of the seniors, especially fifth hour. I went to the Calvin vs. NorthPointe game Tuesday, and sat in the middle. The next day, the students were talking about seeing me and asking my opinion about the game. Then several of them asked if I would come to the homecoming game (I couldn’t this time). I’ve also been able to use some of their slang or stories that I know they can relate to when trying to explain some of the concepts of the poems, which they seem to appreciate.
My goals for the final four days:
- edTPA, edTPA, edTPA: I’ve started work on these tasks, but the next two lessons are part of the segment I planned for the edTPA. So now I just have to try to keep that in mind in my planning, hoping to get the required parts into the lesson and good footage of some of the insights students have been having prior to bringing the camera into the classroom.
- Continue to make connections: As I finish, I’m really trying to emphasize those connections between poems and between their lives and the poems. I don’t want these poems to just be something isolated - they interact with the same themes we’ve studied, the same topics, and moreover students can still pick up on some of the themes in today’s society. Thus, I hope to continue to demonstrate these connections
- Finish strong: I have two more lessons to teach, a review day, and a test to give. Though I’m starting to feel like coasting lesson-wise, having all the work done for this week already, I know to make the lessons successful I can’t coast yet. I have to keep reviewing my lessons, keep thinking about what to add or build on from day to day. Then I want to see the students finish strong too, and hopefully demonstrate their knowledge and learning on the test Thursday.
Class of 2017
The freshmen had a lot of working time this week. We had one more lesson on Monday, but after that it was working on their rough drafts. However, they didn’t always make it easy on me this week. Some students didn’t even have their research complete. Others had finished their research, only to realized they’d only used internet sources, when we told them a number of times, and wrote it in the requirements on the website and in hard copy form, they could only use two. Then, there were the behavior issues. Without my teacher in the room at the end of this week, some of the students seemed to try to take advantage of that and see what they could get away with. Some of how I handled it I feel good about; however, the steps I took probably wasn’t enough for some of them. But it did give me examples to build on, and I was able to formulate plans for handling those situations the next time they arise, and implement them. This is what student teaching is for, in some respects; to try out some of what works now, while I’m still being supported.
I really only have two days left to teach most of my freshmen students, since most of them have final drafts due Tuesday. I may end up still teaching Tuesday; my teacher is currently out of the country, so I don’t know if she has plans for Tuesday. For these last two days, my goals include:
- Keep a lid on it: I need to work to control a couple of the students who are challenging my authority and slacking off. This is my test on classroom management. Now that I know some of what behaviors they’re exhibiting, I can figure out what to do about it.
- But don’t let others slip through: Even while I manage some of the troublemakers, I have to also be supportive of those who are working, which is pretty much everyone else. I don’t want those who are being good students, but want some assistance, to slip by
- Finish strong here too
I still don’t really want to leave these students at the end of this week. I do miss Trinity, and my friends there. I miss dorm life. But I don’t feel it was near enough time with these students. If we could just move Trinity to Michigan, or NPC down to Trinity, that’d be great. Yet, I am interested to see where this next placement leads, and what challenges, rewards, and lessons it brings.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Getting Down to the Wire - week 5
Well, it was an almost full week at NorthPointe. Wednesday marked the 6th snow day since I’ve been there. My units are pretty much down to the wire, and I’m just hoping no more cancellations will happen as I finish the last 9 days I have at the high school. By the time I become a certified teacher, I will definitely be well-practiced in rethinking my plans when unexpected cancellations or shortened classes occur!
I taught both the seniors and freshman all week. Teaching-wise, it was kind of a mixed bag week. I had good and rough lessons. The students were tracking with me some classes and other classes they were pretty out of it. But that’s also the life of student teaching; some things don’t always work out.
A quick review of the week:
The seniors
We got through Wordsworth, so still have four more poets to look at before the test. The Blake discussion was okay in both classes, though had limited participation; only a few people in each class were actually contributing. Since I still had yet to really know names, I was at a loss for how to call on specific students. The “Tintern Abbey” discussion was the rough day in the senior class this week. Though the fifth hour class was at least able to answer some of my questions, sixth hour wasn’t getting it at all and were quite disengaged. The cooperating teacher told me he doesn’t usually assign it as homework, but works through the poem in class instead, or at least gives them a paraphrase of the poem. It gave me something to consider for the future; how can I challenge them appropriately and yet still support them? When I get my own class, I may be able to gauge this fine line better, knowing them from the beginning of the year and sticking with them year-long. The second day of Wordsworth was better; the poems were shorter, they were at least understanding enough to engage with me through the assigned questions and the questions I posed in class, and I was able to engage more people by specifically calling on them since I was picking up on their names.
I was pleased that I could include a couple of shorter activities to extend the poem into their own lives; there was a free write about their favorite place one day and a humorous video connected to Wordsworth’s passion for nature another day. They were able to think about and discuss our call from God when it comes to nature, and they also answered some homework questions that asked them to tie the poems to modern culture or give their reaction.
As I move into the next weeks, the main areas I’m thinking about are:
- Keeping more students participating. The nightly homework reflects that these students do have answers, and some of them have really thorough answers, to the questions about the poems. I want to hear more of that in class. Being able to ask specific students what they think about something does help get more students participating, and hopefully also shows them they will be called upon if they are visibly disengaging or haven’t said much in the class period.
- Is it possible for me, in less than two weeks, to transition into having the students really holding the discussion among themselves? Right now, it’s mostly me posing questions and they’re giving answers. I try to stick to questions, which I think is good if I want to remain mostly the facilitator and give them ownership of their learning. But it’s still me in control as far as moving the discussion forward, especially in 6th hour. It’s a tall order for me to change their discussion tendencies in less than two weeks, in the second semester. I’ll do what I can to remain the questioner and the facilitator, but I don’t know for sure that they will get to the point of commenting and building on one another with me having limited say before I leave.
- The 5th hour class is the focus group for my edTPA, and I really need to pick up on getting some of that work done
- I want to continue to find little ways to get the students to connect the nineteenth century poems with their lives. A lot of this comes through assignment questions and questions posed in class, and I have some plans already in place, so I hope that these plans go over successfully
The freshmen
We are nearly to the point of drafting our papers, so not too far off track from the original plan before the past 4 snow days. However, there is an array of points of completion across the class. The majority of students are right where they’re supposed to be, doing no more nor no less; others have nearly 40 note cards, or had an outline drafted at the start of the week and have begun to write the paper; and others have only just begun the research. It’s an interesting position to be in, and one I know I will navigate again and again as a teacher. To an extent, it’s on the students; I can’t do the work for them. But it’s also about me -- how do I keep the students who are behind on task? How far do I extend deadlines for students who are behind because of sickness? And for those who are ahead -- how do I keep them challenged? How do I make sure they’re still doing the work correctly when I have so many other students who are behind them? This next week will be an interesting one, as I work with students at all of these levels, who are either ready or not ready to draft their paper.
The lessons themselves had ups and downs. I would think the explanation had gone well, but when I asked them to practice I realized less understood than I thought. Since I did include practice with the different writing elements that I taught, I was at least able to work with students when they didn’t understand, so that was a plus. And like it goes with most of teaching, certain students or certain periods as a whole would get it quickly, so the lessons were useful. Plus, even if students struggled, they usually understood part of what was said so could either ask more specific questions or at least indicated something in the lesson was getting through. However, towards the end of the week, we started falling behind because we weren’t able to get through the full lessons I had planned, partially due to snow days, or due to time being taken up by students handing in their homework, and also due to my possibly over-ambitious planning.
As I move forward with this class, the main areas of focus include:
- Keeping students on task, especially if they’re in the group that haven’t been sick but are still behind. I’ll also have to focus on those students who were sick, and re-teach the elements they may have missed or still don’t understand.
- Making sure what we’ve already learned is still being understood and used as they move into writing the paper
- Getting the students all the information they need, and remaining a support to students -- even those who don’t explicitly ask questions, because they may be those who need the support
Remembering that I’m leaving after 9 more school days in this school is really sad. I would absolutely love to stay at NorthPointe. I feel like I’m just getting to know some of the seniors, I don’t want to leave behind my freshmen, and the teachers are such wonderful people to work with. I am going to make the most of the rest of my time in this supportive environment.
I taught both the seniors and freshman all week. Teaching-wise, it was kind of a mixed bag week. I had good and rough lessons. The students were tracking with me some classes and other classes they were pretty out of it. But that’s also the life of student teaching; some things don’t always work out.
A quick review of the week:
The seniors
We got through Wordsworth, so still have four more poets to look at before the test. The Blake discussion was okay in both classes, though had limited participation; only a few people in each class were actually contributing. Since I still had yet to really know names, I was at a loss for how to call on specific students. The “Tintern Abbey” discussion was the rough day in the senior class this week. Though the fifth hour class was at least able to answer some of my questions, sixth hour wasn’t getting it at all and were quite disengaged. The cooperating teacher told me he doesn’t usually assign it as homework, but works through the poem in class instead, or at least gives them a paraphrase of the poem. It gave me something to consider for the future; how can I challenge them appropriately and yet still support them? When I get my own class, I may be able to gauge this fine line better, knowing them from the beginning of the year and sticking with them year-long. The second day of Wordsworth was better; the poems were shorter, they were at least understanding enough to engage with me through the assigned questions and the questions I posed in class, and I was able to engage more people by specifically calling on them since I was picking up on their names.
I was pleased that I could include a couple of shorter activities to extend the poem into their own lives; there was a free write about their favorite place one day and a humorous video connected to Wordsworth’s passion for nature another day. They were able to think about and discuss our call from God when it comes to nature, and they also answered some homework questions that asked them to tie the poems to modern culture or give their reaction.
As I move into the next weeks, the main areas I’m thinking about are:
- Keeping more students participating. The nightly homework reflects that these students do have answers, and some of them have really thorough answers, to the questions about the poems. I want to hear more of that in class. Being able to ask specific students what they think about something does help get more students participating, and hopefully also shows them they will be called upon if they are visibly disengaging or haven’t said much in the class period.
- Is it possible for me, in less than two weeks, to transition into having the students really holding the discussion among themselves? Right now, it’s mostly me posing questions and they’re giving answers. I try to stick to questions, which I think is good if I want to remain mostly the facilitator and give them ownership of their learning. But it’s still me in control as far as moving the discussion forward, especially in 6th hour. It’s a tall order for me to change their discussion tendencies in less than two weeks, in the second semester. I’ll do what I can to remain the questioner and the facilitator, but I don’t know for sure that they will get to the point of commenting and building on one another with me having limited say before I leave.
- The 5th hour class is the focus group for my edTPA, and I really need to pick up on getting some of that work done
- I want to continue to find little ways to get the students to connect the nineteenth century poems with their lives. A lot of this comes through assignment questions and questions posed in class, and I have some plans already in place, so I hope that these plans go over successfully
The freshmen
We are nearly to the point of drafting our papers, so not too far off track from the original plan before the past 4 snow days. However, there is an array of points of completion across the class. The majority of students are right where they’re supposed to be, doing no more nor no less; others have nearly 40 note cards, or had an outline drafted at the start of the week and have begun to write the paper; and others have only just begun the research. It’s an interesting position to be in, and one I know I will navigate again and again as a teacher. To an extent, it’s on the students; I can’t do the work for them. But it’s also about me -- how do I keep the students who are behind on task? How far do I extend deadlines for students who are behind because of sickness? And for those who are ahead -- how do I keep them challenged? How do I make sure they’re still doing the work correctly when I have so many other students who are behind them? This next week will be an interesting one, as I work with students at all of these levels, who are either ready or not ready to draft their paper.
The lessons themselves had ups and downs. I would think the explanation had gone well, but when I asked them to practice I realized less understood than I thought. Since I did include practice with the different writing elements that I taught, I was at least able to work with students when they didn’t understand, so that was a plus. And like it goes with most of teaching, certain students or certain periods as a whole would get it quickly, so the lessons were useful. Plus, even if students struggled, they usually understood part of what was said so could either ask more specific questions or at least indicated something in the lesson was getting through. However, towards the end of the week, we started falling behind because we weren’t able to get through the full lessons I had planned, partially due to snow days, or due to time being taken up by students handing in their homework, and also due to my possibly over-ambitious planning.
As I move forward with this class, the main areas of focus include:
- Keeping students on task, especially if they’re in the group that haven’t been sick but are still behind. I’ll also have to focus on those students who were sick, and re-teach the elements they may have missed or still don’t understand.
- Making sure what we’ve already learned is still being understood and used as they move into writing the paper
- Getting the students all the information they need, and remaining a support to students -- even those who don’t explicitly ask questions, because they may be those who need the support
Remembering that I’m leaving after 9 more school days in this school is really sad. I would absolutely love to stay at NorthPointe. I feel like I’m just getting to know some of the seniors, I don’t want to leave behind my freshmen, and the teachers are such wonderful people to work with. I am going to make the most of the rest of my time in this supportive environment.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
The 2-day week - week 4
This placement sure is teaching me flexibility! I thought I had a
plan and then school was cancelled... for three days in a row. So
everything had to shift, and I had to figure out how to still get
everything accomplished in a decent time -- and, most of all, before I
go back to Illinois! Once I did get back to school, the lessons in
flexibility didn’t stop. I’m learning to bend as assemblies intrude, or
when I might’ve a been a touch over-ambitious in the assignment. Being a
girl who always has a plan, I think it’s good that I’m being forced to
reorganize my thinking and go with the flow. It’s definitely a
characteristic that’s needed when I have my own classroom next year.
Since we had three snow days, I only taught two days this week. But they sure were a full two days! Thursday, I taught for 5 periods. I talked about evaluating sources and taking notes in my freshman classes, and started to introduce Romanticism to the seniors. I only taught about forty minutes to the seniors, and didn’t get through my whole lesson, but again, I’m being flexible, and adding what I didn’t get through to my Monday lesson (the students took a test on 18th century literature Friday). The freshman lesson had mixed feelings; it grew in strength as the day went on, and I felt more confident by 7th hour than I did in 2nd hour, but there’s still elements to develop.
Friday became the real test of the effectiveness of Thursday’s lesson for the freshmen, as they now started researching and taking notes as I had instructed on Thursday. Overall, the kids worked hard on the research and I was proud of them for that. As far as the effectiveness of my lesson, it was understood better by some hours than others. I ended up taking a few minutes to re-explain the note-taking methods again to the whole class for each hour, and after that (and for some students a second or third explanation), they were off and running. I could tell 2nd hour, the one I thought went the roughest, was probably the one hour that didn’t understand note-taking as well and needed it re-explained more thoroughly, so I was right in my post-assessment of my teaching the student learning in that class -- they needed to be more engaged. Now, the students seem to grasp at least how to research. We start with the more detailed parts of writing -- thesis statements, outlines, topic sentences, transitions -- next week, interweaving those mini lessons with more work days on research.
I was doing a lot of walking around Friday, answering many questions, but I actually loved that. I got to talk to students one-on-one that I haven’t interacted with much. I was able to it “click” for some students. Writing is the area I feel most comfortable in, and feel I am strongest in teaching writing papers. I hope that at the end of the unit, the final products come out strong and show evidence of a good ground-level of writing ability, as these students will continue to encounter more and more writing as they continue on in school.
Monday, barring another snow day, nothing stands in my way of full-time teaching. The 12th graders have officially finished their unit, and it’s Romanticism time. The 9th graders continue researching and writing. As I begin this full-time teaching, I know there are things I want to work on and grow in. The main area is classroom management. It’s always been my weaker area, and I know these classes will challenge me to grow and develop in this area. It isn’t always about keeping the chaos at a minimum either. It’s also about seeing who’s participating, and who’s tuning me out in one way or another. This is what I need to work on, in both grades.
Also, my goal for the senior classes is engagement. Unlike the 9th graders, they don’t have a project they’re working on. I do have some time planned to give them a brief lecture, mostly on the background of some of the authors or poems, but I want to see them participating too. A lot of my lessons hinge on the discussion portion. My goal is to really have the students leading the discussion, bouncing ideas back and forth, while I act as more of a facilitator. I don’t know if they’re used to that, so it may not get there right away, but I hope at the end of these three weeks they're closer to that point. Furthermore, I want to connect this material to students’ lives. “Romantic” already probably turns people off. I want to show those guys who hunt, or play sports, that this isn’t just some mushy, gushy, love poetry -- Romanticism actually doesn’t really relate to that connotation of the word. I want them to see what is interesting about it, and to at least participate in discussions about it. I want to make this unit have at least a little fun sprinkled into every lesson. Some people may think I’m hoping for too much -- this is poetry, after all, and these are seniors who just want to graduate. Call me weird, but it’s my goal to peak their interest in something I say or do in class, and in turn in some of the poetry itself.
So I’m looking at Monday, again with the anticipation of jumping in with both feet. I’m also hoping for no more snow days; I may be working on flexibility, but with only three weeks to go, I still have to abide by time’s laws and get it all in!
Since we had three snow days, I only taught two days this week. But they sure were a full two days! Thursday, I taught for 5 periods. I talked about evaluating sources and taking notes in my freshman classes, and started to introduce Romanticism to the seniors. I only taught about forty minutes to the seniors, and didn’t get through my whole lesson, but again, I’m being flexible, and adding what I didn’t get through to my Monday lesson (the students took a test on 18th century literature Friday). The freshman lesson had mixed feelings; it grew in strength as the day went on, and I felt more confident by 7th hour than I did in 2nd hour, but there’s still elements to develop.
Friday became the real test of the effectiveness of Thursday’s lesson for the freshmen, as they now started researching and taking notes as I had instructed on Thursday. Overall, the kids worked hard on the research and I was proud of them for that. As far as the effectiveness of my lesson, it was understood better by some hours than others. I ended up taking a few minutes to re-explain the note-taking methods again to the whole class for each hour, and after that (and for some students a second or third explanation), they were off and running. I could tell 2nd hour, the one I thought went the roughest, was probably the one hour that didn’t understand note-taking as well and needed it re-explained more thoroughly, so I was right in my post-assessment of my teaching the student learning in that class -- they needed to be more engaged. Now, the students seem to grasp at least how to research. We start with the more detailed parts of writing -- thesis statements, outlines, topic sentences, transitions -- next week, interweaving those mini lessons with more work days on research.
I was doing a lot of walking around Friday, answering many questions, but I actually loved that. I got to talk to students one-on-one that I haven’t interacted with much. I was able to it “click” for some students. Writing is the area I feel most comfortable in, and feel I am strongest in teaching writing papers. I hope that at the end of the unit, the final products come out strong and show evidence of a good ground-level of writing ability, as these students will continue to encounter more and more writing as they continue on in school.
Monday, barring another snow day, nothing stands in my way of full-time teaching. The 12th graders have officially finished their unit, and it’s Romanticism time. The 9th graders continue researching and writing. As I begin this full-time teaching, I know there are things I want to work on and grow in. The main area is classroom management. It’s always been my weaker area, and I know these classes will challenge me to grow and develop in this area. It isn’t always about keeping the chaos at a minimum either. It’s also about seeing who’s participating, and who’s tuning me out in one way or another. This is what I need to work on, in both grades.
Also, my goal for the senior classes is engagement. Unlike the 9th graders, they don’t have a project they’re working on. I do have some time planned to give them a brief lecture, mostly on the background of some of the authors or poems, but I want to see them participating too. A lot of my lessons hinge on the discussion portion. My goal is to really have the students leading the discussion, bouncing ideas back and forth, while I act as more of a facilitator. I don’t know if they’re used to that, so it may not get there right away, but I hope at the end of these three weeks they're closer to that point. Furthermore, I want to connect this material to students’ lives. “Romantic” already probably turns people off. I want to show those guys who hunt, or play sports, that this isn’t just some mushy, gushy, love poetry -- Romanticism actually doesn’t really relate to that connotation of the word. I want them to see what is interesting about it, and to at least participate in discussions about it. I want to make this unit have at least a little fun sprinkled into every lesson. Some people may think I’m hoping for too much -- this is poetry, after all, and these are seniors who just want to graduate. Call me weird, but it’s my goal to peak their interest in something I say or do in class, and in turn in some of the poetry itself.
So I’m looking at Monday, again with the anticipation of jumping in with both feet. I’m also hoping for no more snow days; I may be working on flexibility, but with only three weeks to go, I still have to abide by time’s laws and get it all in!
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