AuburnChick's Adventures

Yeah, yeah.  I know.  I’m getting ready to begin week 17, but with Thanksgiving came lots of other blog-worthy happenings.

Besides that, Week 16 was only two and a half days long, so there wasn’t much that happened.

On Monday, the school had an Eid fun day.  We had just gotten back from a week off, and the school’s administrators wanted the students to have a last bit of fun.  As a result, the last two periods of the day were canceled.

Personally, all of these fun days drive me nuts.  It has been very difficult to get into a routine.  Every time I get going on lesson plans, they get interrupted.  Then, the next time we meet, I have to review before presenting new material.

Ugh.

At least I got to meet with my 11th and 12th graders.  Of course, I gave them pop quizzes on Chapters 13-18 of The Scarlet Letter.  I gave them a time limit, though, and then we discussed two chapters.

I know I’ve said it before, but I have really enjoyed teaching this book.  The students have participated in discussions, so it’s been great all the way around.

My 6th graders (my only other class that day) worked on similes and metaphors.  They were a little antsy because of the fun activities that would soon be occurring, so keeping them focused was a little challenging.

Tuesday dawned, and I was ready to dive into some work; however, this was the day in which four of my five classes were taking vocabulary tests.

Yeah.  I’m nice like that.

The Scarlet Letter is ripe with SAT words.  I literally could have tested my students on 600 words or more.  Instead, I culled down the enormous list to 35 words per six-chapter section.  After students finished their exams, we resumed our discussions of the chapters.

For my 6th graders, I opted on showing them a few YouTube figurative language videos to reinforce the figurative language lessons we’ve been having…

I’ve gotta tell you that my students really enjoyed the break from the usual class format.  I think this is is one of those keys in teaching…keeping things interesting…keeping the kids guessing a bit and not used to the same-old same-old.  Sure, they thrive on routine, but they also need to be exposed to different mediums.

My 9th graders came in after lunch, and they took a vocabulary test.  It took them most of the class period because I had assigned them the task of creating stories using fifteen of the twenty words I had called out.  This is the true test when acquiring new vocabulary…using words properly in context.

Here’s what my room looks like when I give tests…with the desks all turned this way and that (and an open door to let in the fresh air)…

My 10th graders, the last class of the day, were supposed to have a test, but one student had completely forgotten to study for it (she’s so sweet too), and to make things worse, I had somehow neglected to insert one page of the words in her vocabulary packet.  Because that was my fault, I delayed the test for a day.

Doing so was another lesson in teaching…going with the flow…adapting quickly.  This isn’t something I’ve been very good at in the past.  I am a planner.  I need to have all of my ducks in a row before I can function.  But in teaching, you can’t always operate this way.  Things come up…things you cannot anticipate.  You have to weigh what is more important…a student’s success or your iron will to push on.  Sometimes you choose the former.

Although we had just had a week off, and the week should have been easy, I could not wait for Wednesday.  Just knowing that it was going to be a short week put me on edge…eager to get done with things so I could be home with my Chicky, who had arrived back in town on Monday.

On Wednesday, my first two classes finished up (well, not my 11th graders, who are talkers) Chapters 13-18.  We’ll be discussing the final six chapters of the book next week.

I introduced a new literary device…hyperboles…to my 6th graders.  They LOVED this.  We use hyperboles all the time when we speak, so they quickly understood them.  We had a fun time discussing them and completing worksheets.

My 9th graders took it a little easier.  I made them read newspaper articles and answer the journalistic questions (who, what, where, when, why, and how).

Then, it was time for my sophomores, who got to take the test they had gotten a free pass on the day before.

And just like that, my week was over.

I will say that the week ended with a bit of frustration.  While most of my students are very driven and respectful, I am having trouble reaching a couple of kids.

Why, pray tell, do some students have trouble respecting authority?  It is an issue that makes me want to bang my head against a wall.  It’s not that I think I’m not commanding it in my room.  I believe I do this, in a confident and non-combative way.

However, it is the outright refusal of some to recognize their places within the established order that makes me want to growl in displeasure.

I know this is something that all teachers deal with, but it is still part of my learning curve and part of what I’m dealing with as a first-year teacher.

Regardless, Week 17 is about to commence.  I’m on a countdown to Christmas vacation.  But, between now and then, I still have a lot of work to do.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: teaching |