Whew! It’s Friday, and let me just say that boy, am I glad!
Oh, it’s not that I had a bad week, because I didn’t.
It’s just that I’ve had two weeks in a row where my schedule has been out-of-whack.
Last week, there was Eid, when I had two days off. Then, on Monday, it was Eid Fun Day, during which classes ended after third period, and the kids got to eat pizza and play games.
Tuesday was picture day, which did not really throw off the entire day, but I lost my entire first period. I will admit that it was an honor to watch my seniors get their formal pictures taken.
They had regular poses first. Then, they sat for their cap and gown pictures. It was interesting to see the girls wear their caps on top of their hijabs…
It was quite the contrast from when I graduated…way back in the 80’s…when the only thing that the cap sat on was my ginormous hair.
But, I digress…
I was reminded of just how beautiful these kids are. With Week 7 underway, their personalities are coming out more and more. As I’ve gotten to know them better, a love for them has completely filled my heart.
And they’ve become even more precious to me.
As I said, I felt honored to be a part of that special moment for them.
On Wednesday, we played Vocabulary Bingo in four of my classes. I had been to Michael’s the week before and picked up a bag of buttons. They are mismatched buttons and perfect for bingo cards. I was especially delighted because, after coupons, I got the back for a scant $2. Whoop Whoop!
My kids loved them! They were certainly a lot safer than the safety pins we had used the last time.
Now, I’ve gotta tell you how much fun Vocabulary Bingo was.
First and second periods were allowed to bring in food. Only two students brought stuff during first period. One of my students brought this…
Ok…so what is it?
It is a chocolate candy bar from Palestine.
Don’t believe me? Check out the labels…
I should have taken a picture of the candy when it was out of the wrapper, but oops…I forgot. teehee
I will say that it was similar to a Kit Kat, but the chocolate was softer.
One of my students brought these cookies/biscuits in (I never did get the name of them)…
This little cookie wasn’t overly sweet, but it had dates inside.
My second period class brought in a lot of goodies. There were Chicken Minis from Chick fil A…
We had brownies, and someone had even brought in fruit! But, probably my favorite thing was the plate of cookies from Publix. They were the soft, super-sugary cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles.
Oh
My
Goodness.
The kids had a LOT of fun playing Bingo, and I’ve almost decided to make this a special treat for those kids.
I mean…they are good students. They work hard, and they have the added pressure of college classes. Why not have a little bit of fun?
Then, on Thursday, I gave my killer vocabulary tests…
Hey, at least I have a sense of humor!!
I was more than fair, I believe, giving a bonus on the test (up to 15 points) and counting their Bingo points. One of my students made a 130.
No kidding.
It is my belief that we should reward kids for what they know. Who cares if they get 120 or higher? They might have a bad day and bomb a different test, so the extra points really help their averages! Plus, I am a very demanding teacher. I like to balance out my toughness with a softer side.
On Friday, I gave my 6th graders a spelling test. I have chosen spelling over vocabulary, for the time being, because I know that their little hearts could not tolerate the stress of learning 20 vocabulary words. We are studying vocabulary in the stories we are reading in class, and I did spring a pop quiz on them a couple of weeks ago. But, they are reading a lot and practicing a bit of writing. So, spelling it is.
And whine, a few of them did.
Seriously?
Whining is something I do not put up with, and I am always quick to nip it in the bud. I do not care if they are 6th graders. It’s called life. It’s called school. Deal with it.
I guess that picture above (along with my comment) is fitting, eh?
In between all of the vocabulary and spelling, I actually started new stories in two of my classes.
My 6th graders are reading “The Dog of Pompeii.” It is a wonderful story. It’s also a little sad at the end. But, we haven’t gotten that far yet. The kids seem to be enjoying the story, and we are having a lot of good discussions as we work our way through it.
My 9th graders are reading “By the End of Summer,” another sad short story. Although we’ve only spent one day on the story, my students sat in rapt attention…even the more active gentleman. I asked a lot of questions about prediction and whatnot. They seem to be following along quite well. I am pleased.
So, the week was filled with mostly highs, a couple of lows, and a few surprises.
When I apologized to my Juniors for the load of work I’d assigned them, they were very kind. They even told me how nice it was to have a normal English class. I even heard one student mutter under his/her breath, “This is more like a college class.”
Uh huh.
I keep telling them that college will seem easy after my class!
But still, I find it rewarding to see students recognize that yes, I am trying to help them.
When I hear a student say, “Mrs. AuburnChick, the vocabulary is really helping. I came across a word on my practice SAT test, and I was able to eliminate it as one option right away,” well, I can’t help but smile.
I really want to say, “I told you so.”
Actually, it’s more like, “Trust me.”
Students are starting to understand why I assigned them the task of writing blogs. They are getting some comments from others (thanks to all of my Facebook friends and family who have taken the time to read and comment).
They are starting to realize that what they say is important to others, and it is important enough that others are stopping, taking time out of their day, and even writing them back.
I even heard one girl say, after a discussion in class, “I might blog about that.”
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding
By golly, I think she’s got it!
I am going to list my students’ blogs…in case you want to check them out for yourselves:
Big Time Gleek
Cheese
Gigglingbutton’s Blog
Life…
m’s blog
Meditations from the Marty Mind
seekinglife
seeker of truth
And so ends Week 7.
I can hardly wait to see what Week 8 has in store!
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