Whew! Is it Saturday evening already?
My, oh my, how quickly the week went by!!
One week ago today, I had said goodbye to my Chicky and was still experiencing sudden fits of tears.
Praise God for the fun and challenges that have accompanied my new job.
When Monday arrived, I eagerly jumped out of bed. I couldn’t wait to see my new babies, and they seemed happy to see me as well.
I warned them that they needed to treat Mrs. AuburnChick very gently the first few days as tears were lurking right behind my eyeballs.
Of course, these students are so sweet that treating my kindly came as second nature.
We spent the first couple of days reading autobiographical excerpts from their literature books.
I had decided to use the first nine weeks to focus on teaching my students how to write. I figured that starting from scratch would be the best way to ensure that they had the basics down. The rest of the year will be spent reading and analyzing literature while strengthening vocabulary and grammar skills through writing exercises.
Wednesday and Thursday were spent working on writing leads and organizing ideas into clusters.
Oh, you guys, this is where I felt like a teacher for the first time.
Because my classes are so small, brainstorming ideas became one large, full-class effort, rather than the work of several small groups.
Therefore, everyone learned new things about everyone else.
That is huge for the students who attend this school because most of them have been in the same class with the same classmates ever since pre-school.
As we clustered, I asked questions of the students…
“So, you want to be a doctor? Why do you want to be a doctor? Are you following a family tradition? Where do you want to attend med school? Why do you want to attend this particular school? Do you have family nearby who you can stay with and, perhaps, save money or have extra support? Are there particular scholarships that you will qualify for at this school?”
I explained that I did not just want to read that the students were born on such-and-such date and in such-and-such city. I wanted them to describe several things about their lives that are having a deep impact on who they are…things that are influencing future goals.
As I watched the wheels in their heads turning in thought, I realized that THIS is what teaching is all about.
It is not so much about teaching facts as it is about providing the tools that get kids to THINK.
If students are taught to think outside of the box, they realize that there are no limits to what they can accomplish.
Exciting stuff, people. Exciting stuff!
My school gets out early on Fridays, so class periods are only 40 minutes long. Thus, I decided to begin a new thing: Fantastic Fridays.
To reward students for working so hard during the rest of the week, we will relax a bit on Fridays. I explained to the students that they will be selecting an article from the numerous magazines and newspapers I’ve brought into the classroom and answering Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How questions.
I believe that it is important for young readers to be exposed to a variety of media forms. I told my students that I hope to train them to look for the answers to the above questions when they read anything. This is how they will know if they are truly comprehending the material.
So, we read.
We talked about the articles they were reading.
They asked questions.
When the bell rang at 12:40, I busted out of there with the students.
I carried with me the journals my students have been writing in…
The notebooks on the left are the ones I read last night. I’ll finish the stack on the right tomorrow.
I am blown away by the responses my students have written to my daily “Bell Ringer” prompts – questions such as, “If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be? Why would you choose this? What would you name it?”
One of my favorite responses to this question was Ms. M, who said she has always wanted an elephant and begged her parents to get her one, justifying the request by telling them that the elephant could wash the windows. One of the names she would give it is “Squirt.” LOL!
I had asked my students what they want to be when they get older. Almost all of them aspire to be doctors.
I kid you not.
Because I only have 25 students total, I am getting to know them very well.
I am living my dream, y’all, and I could not be happier.
I am also completely exhausted.
My brain is in overdrive…constantly thinking about the ways in which I can enhance the lessons.
I am thinking about how I really need to get the lesson plans that I’ve written down into my notebook on the computer and turned into my school’s educations director.
heehee
Week #2 – who wouldda thunk it could be better than Week #1.
Written like a true English teacher.
heehee
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AuburnChick's Adventures 