• Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 78 other subscribers

  • “Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers” — Isaac Asimov

  • Recent Posts

  • Pages

  • Categories

  • Archives

  • Blog Stats

    • 195,070 hits

17 Weeks To Go

Posted on February 28, 2011 by auburnchick

Week 7 of my education certification program went swimmingly.

Because I had busted my rear during the two previous weeks, I was able to relax last week.  Well, I relaxed as much as possible, anyhow, given that I stalked my college’s web site as I awaited feedback from the final BEAST of a project that I had completed.

Meanwhile, I had two very minor assignments to finish up.  They seemed easy compared to the work I had already completed during the term.

On Sunday, I received the feedback I had been waiting for.  I had received the most points possible on my final lesson plan.

Whew!  What a relief!

True lesson planning requires a lot of time, creativity, and attention to details.  Teachers must consider the setup of their rooms, the materials they will need, and the motivation they will use to spark students’ interests.  Teachers must also take into account their students’ academic levels and plan adjustments as necessary.  Most of the time, teachers will have students of differing levels in their classrooms.  This was new for me because, traditionally, teachers have always taught one way for all students.  It was always sink or swim in the classes I attended.  The smart kids always helped the struggling students.

I feel confident that by the time I have completed all of my required courses, planning in this manner will be second-nature.

Again, I was reminded of how wonderful this program is, even if I sometimes loathe the workload and deadlines.

I have one more week to go in this first term.  All that remains is burning CDs for my classes and delivering them to the college.  The program that I am in requires students to create electronic portfolios of their work.  The program’s administrators keep them on file for five years because the state of Florida routinely audits the program to ensure compliance with State mandates.

I plan on burning an extra copy of each CD for my personal files as well.  I want to ensure that I am able to provide documentation of the work I completed, should questions ever arise.  I also know that the University of West Florida (UWV) has an articulation agreement with the college I am attending.  I believe that the agreement states that either six or nine of the credits from the certification program may be transferred over to UWF’s Master’s program, should students decide to work toward a higher degree.

While I cannot envision myself doing so at this moment, I may, one day, decide to travel down this road.

With my first term’s assignments behind me, I am going to spend this week creating lesson plans for the classes I teach.

Oh, speaking of classes, I have to share a quick story.

Last week, I only had two of my six juniors in class one day (the other students had stayed home due to illness or to study for college exams).  One of the students who came to class asked me how I was managing to work and get my college assignments done.

I explained how I use my binders to stay organized.  I told him that I keep my assignment schedules in the fronts of my binders and check them daily for due dates.  I also explained that I write in the dates that I complete assignments so I’ll know what hasn’t been finished.

Working full time and attending school full time requires a lot of organization and dedication.

I hope that I can be an example to this young man and others who may be looking on.

I remain ever grateful for God’s provision, both physically and mentally, as I continue on my quest for my permanent teaching certification.

He is SO good!

All glory to my Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit for providing everything I need and then some.

I am so blessed.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

Week 27 of Teaching

Posted on February 27, 2011 by auburnchick

Week 27 was interesting.  First of all, it was a four-day week.

Short weeks are wonderful in that they are short; however, I think short-week demons work their way into students because I have found that short weeks often present more challenges.  It is almost as if students are not as focused as they are during five straight day of classes.

Throughout the week, my juniors and seniors worked on their short stories.  The stories were due on Friday, and they needed all of that time to fine-tune them.

My 6th graders continued reading poems.  We worked on incorporating all of the literary devices we have been learning about into writing poems of our own.

Meanwhile, my 9th and 10th grade students finished reading and discussing Romeo and Juliet.

On Tuesday, my school’s education director came into my classroom and observed me.  Here’s what he saw on my board…

The lesson for that day went extremely well.  My students carried on a lively discussion.  We worked on a Venn Diagram to list similarities and differences between the main characters of the play.

On Wednesday, my 6th graders worked on rhythm, rhyme, and meter…

We also read the poem Whatif.  One of my little students giggled the entire way through the poem.  I have to tell you that 6th graders’ giggles are simply delightful.

During lunch, I did what I’ve been doing for a couple of weeks now…

I studied.

I am preparing to take the General Knowledge Test that the state of Florida requires all teachers to pass.  I am focusing my studies on the math section.  I am hoping that the forty minutes I spend studying each day during lunch will help me.  Math is not my best subject, so I am nervous.  I would really appreciate your prayers.

Following lunch was my ninth grade class.

I had a surprise for my 9th graders.

I gave them a pop quiz on Act 5 of Romeo and Juliet.

They were not amused.

I wanted to ensure that they had read the material and had been paying attention in class while we discussed the first two scenes of that act.

Needless to say, my class’s morale went downhill from there.

One thing I have learned in my education certification classes is that the task of motivating students to learn falls on teachers.  I have discovered that doing this requires a huge amount of energy and creativity…especially for classes comprised of students with short attention spans.

I cannot say that I did the best of this with my ninth graders.

Sigh.

I know God is teaching me a lot of lessons in this class.

I have much to learn.

Thursdays are always fun in my classes.

Well, they are fun for me.

These are my vocabulary testing days (and spelling testing for my 6th graders)…

Vocabulary tests typically take most of the class period to finish, so I don’t typically schedule a heavy lesson for afterward.

I have to share one cute story from Thursday.  One of my seniors really struggles with vocabulary tests.  I think that I’ve mentioned how difficult they are.  I require students to know the spellings for each word as well as the definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and antonyms.  Not only that, but my students have to know how to use the words in sentences.

The student who usually struggles walked into class on Thursday morning, and she announced that she had studied for the test.  She said she was ready, and she proceeded to explain how she remembered the meaning of the word “badinage.”  My heart swelled with pride as I heard her making connections with the words and real life.

She wound up doing very well on this test!

My spelling test, however, is short, so the 6th graders and I worked on more poetry.  I have a feeling they are going to be sick of the genre by the time we finish!

Friday was…hmmm…interesting.

During first period, my students were chit chatting, and one of them mentioned The Scarlet Letter and moaned.  You might remember that we read this book before Christmas.  We dissected it completely, and all of us were quite sick of it by the time we finished.

This student, however, told me how much she had learned from analyzing the book in detail.  She has taken what she learned and used it to analyze movies she watches.

This is true teaching…when your students apply the lessons from the classroom to real life.

That was a good moment.

It was followed by some bad moments (which eventually led to my shopping excursion, which I blogged about a day or two ago).

And so another week passed.

We have seven more days of school before we begin Term 3 finals.  Following finals will be Spring Break.

I.

Am.

On.

A.

Countdown.

Meanwhile, I continue to enjoy the fabulous weather that Florida is experiencing, along with a slight reprieve from my certification classes.  I spent Saturday afternoon out in the sunshine with my lesson plans…

Slowly but surely…one week at a time…my first year of teaching will, in twelve short weeks, be complete.

Between now and then are more lessons for me to learn and to impart on my students.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

How To Fix a Crappy Day

Posted on February 25, 2011 by auburnchick

One word…

Folks,

I did not have the best day.

Teaching is like that.  You have good days, and you have bad days.

During the course of a day, you have good moments, and you have bad moments.

If you’re lucky, you are able to string one good moment after another for an entirely great day.

If you’re not lucky, you get the opposite.

Kids are humans.  They have good moments and bad moments, and those moments don’t always line up with the teachers’ moments.

Today’s bad moments took the wind out of my sails, and I went home very down-in-the-dumps.

I still love teaching, mind you.  I was simply having a downer kind of afternoon.

I called my friend, Christina, and I cried on her shoulder.  She’s a wonderful listener.  She’s also very funny, and she cheered me up.

Then I sat on my couch, ready to settle in for the weekend.

Until the Mr. came home and made an announcement:

“I’ve got a coupon, and there’s something I want from Kohl’s.  If you want to go, I’m leaving in a few minutes.”

I don’t know about you, but when I hear “if you want to go,” I know that means that someone is willing to spend money.

I did not hesitate.

Neither did Rooster.

We parted ways as soon as we entered the store.

I bet you know which section I headed to first…

SHOES!!!

Oh.

My.

Word.

Shoes are the bane of my existence.

I.

Simply.

Love.

Them.

Take a gander of what I saw (and tried on)…

Obviously, I am into wedges and all things glittery right now.

Speaking of glittery, I saw the most FABULOUS pair of shoes ever…

This pair reminds me of Dorothy’s red shoes in the Wizard of Oz.  Sure, they are totally impractical, but I did not care.

I.

Wanted.

These.

Shoes.

Look how amazing they looked on my feet…

When the Mr. and Rooster came looking for me, they saw me wandering around with one pink, glittery shoe on.

I did my best to convince the Mr. that owning these shoes would make me a better teacher.

Can you imagine the connections I would make with my female students?  They would ogle my shoes.

They would think I was cool.

The Mr. wasn’t buying it.

In fact, he gave me the same look as last week when I asked him if there was any way we write a sauna off of our taxes as a “business expense” since I do my best lesson planning while in a hot, steamy shower.

Yeah.

You can’t blame a girl for trying.

I left the Mr. and Rooster so that I could find a potty.  All of that shoe shopping was a little too exciting for me.

When I exited, I walked back to the front of the store…taking a different route…one that led me to the clothes section.

Oh boy.

I usually HATE shopping, but something had gotten a hold of me.

I began scooping up clothes to try on.

Before too long, I had quite an armful.

That’s when the Mr. and Rooster caught up with me again.

Rooster sighed.

He has been through this a few times.

Fortunately, there were comfortable padded seats beside the dressing rooms.

I tried on more clothes that I’ve tried on in two or three years combined.

Nearly everything fit, thanks to this healthy diet I’ve been on.  I am able, once again, to comfortably wear the sizes I’ve always been accustomed to wearing.  I felt like my old self as I tried on item after item.

Some things were discarded immediately.

Most things, though, found their way onto the “buy” pile.

Rooster groaned.

He had one shirt and one pair of shoes on his “pile.”

The only problem I had was with the blue jeans.  Being 5’2″ has its drawbacks.

Pants are always too long.

One pair of jeans was only an inch and a half too long, so I told the Mr. that I was sure that buying a pair of high heeled shoes would make the jeans fit perfectly.

😉

We headed back to the shoe department.

We walked around and around.

I moseyed over to those pink shoes.

I sighed wistfully.

An eight-year-old girl lovingly handled “my”shoes.

The Mr. gave me a pointed look.

I told him she had good taste.

I don’t think that’s what his look implied.

I ignored his subliminal message (“If an eight-year-old likes it, that should tell you something.”).

He did not change his mind.

Darn it.

When I win the lottery, I’m totally buying those shoes.

I did find a couple of other pairs I liked, though, and we headed to the register.

I won’t tell you the total.  We did save quite a bit of money when we combined sales with the coupon we had.

I floated on air as we made our way to the car.

Wanna see what I wound up getting?

First, the clothes…

And now, the shoes…

These are the cutest sandals!  They zip up the back (kind of strange, but it works).  They are so comfortable too!

And my other pair of shoes…

I adore these shoes!!  In fact, as I was trying them on, another lady was watching me.  She commented that I had better be careful not to fall.

I didn’t.

I’ve been walking in heels for more than twenty years…

What I love about these shoes is how great they look with blue jeans…

The lady who had watched me try them on liked the way they looked on my feet, and she decided to try them on too.  She wound up buying a pair.  I should have made a hefty commission!

Oh, and did I mention that these shoes were designed by someone famous?

Look at the cute little insignia that I discovered on the sole…

And so my crappy day turned out A-Okay.

I am so grateful that the Mr. took us shopping.  It was the perfect way to end the week!!

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: , , | 5 Comments »

Spring Is Almost Here

Posted on February 24, 2011 by auburnchick

With the advent of warmer weather this week came another visitor…

I don’t know if you can see it, but there is a film of pollen on my car!

I keep my car parked in my garage at home, so when I left for work yesterday, it was clean.

When I walked outside to run an errand during my planning period, I found it coated in the yellow stuff.

You wanna know something, though?

I.

Did.

Not.

Care.

That precious yellow powder was a reminder that Spring is right around the corner.

I.

Cannot.

Wait.

Filed under: This-n-That | 6 Comments »

National Hodgepodge Day!

Posted on February 23, 2011 by auburnchick

Ok.  So I lied.  It’s not really National Hodgepodge Day, but hey, as Joyce said, there’s a “National Day” for just about everything, so why not the Wednesday Hodgepodge?  Joyce, why don’t you petition Congress with that request, eh?

heehee

Wanna play along?  Post your questions, link up at Joyce’s site, and visit other bloggers.  It’s fun!  I promise.  I don’t lie.  😀

1.  Did you know there is a National Day of pretty much everything in the universe? February 23 happens to be National Inconvenience Yourself Day…when was the last time you were inconvenienced?

I was last inconvenienced yesterday morning when I showed up early to work because a student had signed up to retake a vocabulary exam.  She did not show.  I was miffed.  I had wanted to run by the grocery store to pick up some chopped fruit to eat for breakfast.  Needless to say, the student didn’t keep her end of the deal, so she will not be getting another chance (I also had five students who “forgot” to show up during my lunch hour, but that’s another story).

2.  When a room in your house needs painting who does the job?

The Mr. does the painting in our house.  I am not allowed to because I don’t paint “evenly.”  However, I am “allowed” to stand on a ladder and do the edging by the ceiling.  Go figure.

3.  Are you friends with your cousins?

I am friends with two cousins on Facebook.  I have only seen my cousins twice in my life.  Once was when I was a little girl, and the other time was when I was a teenager.  They live in Canada and France, so being IRL friends is impossible.

4.  Do you use an alarm clock? If yes-is it an actual alarm, music, or something else?

I have to use an alarm clock, and it is set to the buzzer.  I cannot seem to wake up to music.

5.  What do you put ketchup on?

I am not currently eating ketchup on anything because I am adhering to a strict vegan diet; however, I do like ketchup and will put it on fries, chicken, etc.  I have an uncle who used to put ketchup on his eggs.  I think ketchup tastes good on almost everything.

6.  What smells make you nostalgic?

Oh, the sense of smell is so amazing where it comes to memory, eh?  Let’s see…freshly mowed grass makes me think of my semi-carefree teenage days.  I used to love laying in the grass after it had been mowed.  The smell of Jean Nate perfume takes me back to my early high school days.

The smell of Ralph Lauren perfume makes me think of my sister as a teenager.  One of her boyfriends bought the perfume for her, and it smelled delightful on her (not so much on me, darn it).  Whenever I smell this perfume, I am taken back to our teenage years when we had our own vanities in the bathroom we shared (complete with stools).

Oh, and I almost forgot another perfume…Tresor…

One of the last gifts my dad bought me before he passed away was a gift box that included this perfume.  I remember nonchalantly setting it aside, figuring I’d never use it.  That was when I was working my way through Jude Deveraux’s books.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  She’s a romance writer (it’s not exactly clean stuff, so don’t go thinking you’ll be picking up a good, clean Christian love story).  Her characters are so amazing though and always filthy rich.  One of the characters in the book I was currently reading took his beloved on a shopping spree and spent oodles of money on her.  The perfume he bought?

Tresor.

After reading that, I took my little self over to my bathroom cabinet, fished that bottle right out, and decided it was good enough for me.

To this day, I cannot pass the perfume counter without catching a whiff.  I always think of my dad, who obviously had good taste, and Jude Deveraux’s book.

I also love the smells associated with the beach.  I grew up going to the beach in the city where I now live.  Beach air just smells different, and it makes me remember the early mornings that I used to get up and take walks on the beach when we visited.

7.  Have you heard about the high school English teacher recently suspended as a result of some things she wrote in her personal blog? You can read the story here but in a nutshell she vented a lot of frustration onto her blog. She didn’t mention individual students by name but she did make some harsh comments about kids in general and their parents.

What are your thoughts-If you’re a parent is your child’s teacher online and are you ‘friend’ or ‘follower’ there? If you’re a teacher are you on facebook and do you accept or friend students on fb? How about their parents? If you’re a student are you friends with your current or former teachers online? Do any of them have blogs you read? If you’re a teacher or a parent do you ever use your blog as a place to vent your frustrations with our educational system? So much to discuss…

I am a teacher.  I am also the parent of a high school student.  I am not friends with any of my son’s teachers on Facebook, although I am friends with a few of the staff from his school.  That is not a biggie.  As a teacher, I had long ago decided not to become Facebook friends with my students; however, I had a few female students who I finally accepted as friends.  Then, when band season rolled around, I started taking pictures of the performances, and the kids wanted to tag themselves in the photos, so they started friending me.  I finally started accepting their requests to make it easier for them to tag themselves.  I never commented on their posts…just allowed them to tag themselves.

Then, I went to one of my required Saturday classes, and we discussed ethics in teaching.  Although my professor did not say it wrong to be friends with students, the discussion was enough to make me go back to my original decision.  When I got home, I unfriended all of my students and the band kids.  My city has had a few “issues” locally in recent weeks, and I felt like the best thing to do would be to maintain a professional distance.

This is going to be the stance I maintain from here on out in my teaching career.

As far as blogs go, I do not know if any of my child’s teachers have blogs.  I don’t really care, quite honestly.  I write my blog, and yes, I write about my teaching adventures.  However, no matter how frustrated I feel some weeks, I am very careful not to vent in a negative way on my blog.  I have so much to learn about teaching that I often feel as if some of my frustrations are the result of my own mistakes.  Plus, some of my students DO read my blog, and I want to set a good example.  I am ever mindful that teachers are role models.  We need to conduct ourselves in a way that is honorable.  Kids are watching us…even when we don’t realize it.  I, for one, do not want to let them down.

8.  My random thought:

Is anybody as excited as I am about the start of Survivor and The Amazing Race? Both shows have brought back former players, and the shows are being revamped with new rules. It’s enough to make a “reality” junkie happy, happy, happy!!

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: | 20 Comments »

This is the Stuff

Posted on February 22, 2011 by auburnchick

I recently discovered the following song…

There are a couple of reasons why I like this song.

First, I absolutely love the instrumentals and Francesca’s voice…so unique!!

Most importantly, I love the words…

I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please ‘Cuz I can’t find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that’s getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I’m blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You’re doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

45 in a 35
Sirens and fines while I’m running behind
Whoa

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that’s getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I’m blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You’re doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I’ve got a new appreciation
It’s not the end of the world
Oh Oh Oh

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff
Someone save me
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I’m blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
And I’ve gotta trust You know exactly what You’re doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

Oh Oh Oh Oh
This is the stuff You use

The message of this song is so simple and powerful.

God uses EVERYTHING in our lives to bring us closer to Him.

I find it incredibly reassuring to know that God weaves all of the “stuff” of my life  into a beautiful work of art.  All I have to do is trust Him.

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

18 Weeks To Go

Posted on February 21, 2011 by auburnchick

When last I discussed my certification classes, I had just completed a project that took me nine hours to finish.  It was the BEAST, if you might recall.

Well, here is the feedback that I received from my professor:

“Consider yourself ‘over the hill!’ You earned 50 points for your artifact this week. Again, your work is ‘over the top.’ Get it, over the hill and over the top. I know corny!”

She’s a funny lady, eh?  I have appreciated her humor.  This class has been very, very difficult.

I spent the week working my vegan behind off.  It was Week 6 of the eight-week term.  With only one more week of assignments to go, I wanted to get ahead (Week 8 consists of creating an e-portfolio of the work completed all term).

What I really wanted to do was finish all of my assignments in two of my classes so that I could focus on another BEAST of a project in my reading class.

Two of my assignments were to create a grade book and to create a unit plan cover sheet.  I thought, upon first glance, that they would be easy.  Oh heck no!  I sent numerous emails to my teacher, and she kindly responded; however, by the time she did, I had pushed through.

I’m like that.

I do not like waiting on other people and generally figure things out on my own.

Regardless, her responses confirmed my original thoughts.

And so I uploaded those items…a full week plus two days early.

I had stayed up late every single night to get these things finished.  By Saturday, I was ready to take on my BEASTLY reading assignment.

My challenge was to write an entire reading lesson plan.

Writing a lesson plan may seem easy to veteran teachers, but to teacher-wannabes, it is no easy task.  There are so many things we have to remember to do, but the most important thing is to line everything up with the standards we are teaching.  This is quite challenging.

I worked hard…

Twelve very long hours…

Finishing in time to upload my assignment before heading to bed.

Sunday morning, I woke up with a little bit of a headache.

I suspect it was the release of stress.

Because I have worked so hard, I only have two small assignments left, and I cannot do those until other students post their assignments first since I have to reply to the work they post.

Of course, I still have to await feedback from my instructors.  I very well could have more work ahead of me, and because I am still learning, I fully expect this.  That is fine.  I feel like the bulk of the work is behind me.

I have to say that I LOVE three-day weekends!  Knowing that Monday would be a holiday, I decided to treat myself.

I gave myself Sunday off.

I desperately needed it.

Could I have been making lesson plans for the classes I teach?

Yes.

Could I have been studying for my General Knowledge Test, which I plan to take in March?

Yes.

Did I do either one of these tasks?

Nope.

Instead, I went to Joann Fabrics and bought yarn.  I decided I would knit…

I began work on a super-secret project…one I won’t be able to reveal for a few months.  I managed to knit 1/4 of my project while I watched NASCAR, The Amazing Race, The Other Boleyn Girl, and some other movie that I can’t remember the name of.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that this next week will go smoothly, and that I won’t have too much work to resubmit.

Term 1 is almost finished.

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: , | 3 Comments »

Following God

Posted on February 20, 2011 by auburnchick

We sang the following song at church this morning…

The words of this song really speak to me…especially because I teach at a school in which all of the students are Muslim (not that it is a requirement to be Muslim to attend, and several non-Muslim children have attended over the years).

When I first accepted the job, I got a lot of funny looks and comments when I told people where I would be working.

I’ll admit that my nerves were on edge.  I had no idea what to expect.  All I knew was that my principal and the other gal who had interviewed me had seemed very open and accepting of my Christian faith.

Of course, if you’ve been reading my blog during the last few months, you have read about how much I have grown to love my students.

I teach English.

Sometimes we talk about religion.  Sometimes we talk about politics.

That’s part of education.

You know what?

These kids are just like my principal.

They accept our differences.

My friend, Jane, has shared the same journey because we teach at the same school.  She is a Christian as well, and she has grown to love the students and the staff as much as I have.

Jane is around 60 years old.  She is a little spit-fire.  Last week, she got a teensy bit miffed at a certain famous person who has a talk show.

Jane wrote a letter to the editor of Podunk, USA’s paper.

One of my students blogged about it, which is how I found out Jane had written it.

I went online to read the letter, and it was good.

It was real good.

But the comments that followed online were bad.

They were very bad.

They were written by people who simply have no clue about what God calls His children to do.

This brings me back to the song up above.

God calls us to follow Him.

God calls us to love others just as He loved us.

Jane and I are doing that.

God calls us all to do different things and to go different places.  Who are we to refuse His call if it goes against the political correctness of where we live?

Jane and I are certainly not perfect.  Sometimes, we lose our tempers.  We apologize.  Then, we screw up again.  Then we apologize.  Then we run to each others’ classrooms and vent and hug.

Then we go back and teach these wonderful children who may seem different on the outside but on the inside are just like the rest of the world’s population.

They have a need to be loved and accepted.

What about you?

Where is God calling you to go?

Who is God calling you to love?

Will you heed His call?

Filed under: Christian, Teaching | Tagged: , | 5 Comments »

Week 26 of Teaching

Posted on February 19, 2011 by auburnchick

Yesterday morning, while I was driving to work, I couldn’t help but consider how fast time seems to fly by.  Teacher are especially cognizant of this fact as we live week by week.

So, here I am, and another week has passed.  It seems like only yesterday when I opened my eyes and it was Monday!  Wow!

Ok…so on to Week 26 of my first year of teaching.

Last weekend, I had an epiphany while I was enjoying a hot, relaxing shower.  I had been thinking about some of my students who have struggled with the vocabulary tests I have administered this term.  One thing I have learned through my certification classes is that students absolutely must show mastery of the standards that are being taught.  The purpose of assessments is to determine mastery.

Students who have not passed their vocabulary tests obviously have not mastered this skill.

My epiphany was that I would administer retakes for those who had obtained a 74 or below.  I consider scoring 75 or higher showing decent mastery.  So, after getting out of the shower, I wrote up my procedures and handed them out on Monday…

I put a schedule on the wall beside my classroom door, and students were allowed to sign up…

You should have seen my students’ faces when I told them about this.  The ones who needed to take advantage of the retakes looked visibly relieved that they would have a chance to pull up their grades.  One of my students thanked me several times.

Meanwhile, my 11th and 12th graders read a couple of selections written by Henry VIII’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth.  She was quite the sporty queen…very well educated and gifted with political prowess.

My sixth graders took a spelling pretest and then worked in cooperative groups to practice poetry reading.  My goal was to get them to practice their fluency skills, and I assigned each group a different poem from their textbook.

I have to say that I really, really love cooperative learning.  I love listening to students as they share their ideas and work out details for projects.  As I become more proficient at lesson planning, I will utilize this instructional strategy more often.

My ninth and tenth graders continued discussing Romeo and Juliet.  We began working our way through Act 4 this week.

On Tuesday, I finished up the Queen Elizabeth writings with my oldest grades.

My 6th graders read a poem about daydreams, and we did an exercise in which I allowed them to daydream for a few minutes.  Then, they had to do freewriting, capturing their thoughts and ideas from their daydream.  This class seems to enjoy writing exercises, so I have started incorporating them into most of my daily lessons with them.

Meanwhile, my 9th and 10th graders continued their Romeo and Juliet discussions.

Wednesday was an unusual day.  It was the day of the county’s History Fair, and all of my ninth and tenth grade students attended the fair, so I only had to teach three classes!

My 11th and 12th graders brought in the rough drafts for their short stories. I have to tell you that my students have really grown to enjoy this project.  When I first assigned it, along with the minimum word count (1,500 words), they groaned.  They had no idea how they would write that many words.

Ha!  When they showed up on Wednesday, most of them had surpassed the count by two or three thousand words!!  I overheard students telling each other how much they were enjoying the assignment and had fallen in love with their characters.

Bigtimegleek and mlbstyl blogged about the assignment.

These two classes spent Wednesday doing peer reviews while I spent time marking up rough drafts.  I have to say that I am merciless in this department.  I demand excellence as far as grammar goes, and the markings on their papers reflect this expectation.  I also asked poignant questions requesting clarification of story lines.  Students are learning how to write detailed narratives that include a lot of dialogue.  There are many lessons being learned through this assessment.

My 6th graders studied personification and then attempted to create poems about daydreams, incorporating personification into their poems.

Then, I was free for the afternoon!  I went home, where I grabbed a quick nap and then settled in to work on my certification assignments.  I loved the gift of time that I had been gifted.

On Thursday, I resumed peer editing with my Juniors and Seniors.

My 6th graders got an in-depth lesson about personification because I had, through formative assessments the day before, determined that my students did not understand what, exactly, personification is.  By the time we finished the exercises, I felt like they had a better grasp of this literary device.

My 9th and 10th graders were given a pop quiz on Act 4 of Shakespeare’s play.  I also had a few reminders for my students…

Before I knew it, Friday arrived.  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here in northern Florida, so I pulled out my sandals and got ready for my day…

Have I said how much I love Fridays at my school?  Yeah, I think I’ve told you a few times.

Once again, my oldest students peer reviewed.  This is a very time-consuming process, and I want to make sure that I touch every single story before they turn in final drafts next Friday.

My 6th graders had a spelling pretest and then read Time for Kids magazines, which I happen to get free (long story) and then completed worksheets.  We worked on skimming and scanning skills with the worksheets today.

During lunch, I administered retakes to seven students.  Most of them did very well on the tests, I am pleased to say.

My 9th and 10th graders worked on dialectical journals.  I have required them to complete one journal for each act of Romeo and Juliet, but they just have not “gotten” the point of the exercise.  Although I have explained how to write the journals and given examples, they still have not understood.  So, I decided to have my students write them during class time.  I thought that by circulating around the room and providing on-the-spot feedback, that they would do better.  I expect much better grades when they turn in final copies on Tuesday.

Whew!  It’s hard to believe how much work each week requires!  It’s enough to tire out even the most energetic person!

By the time Friday afternoons roll around, I am so ready to relax.

Pele is always more than happy to participate in weekly de-stressing sessions…

So now the countdown begins.  Three more weeks until it is Spring Break.

I think I can…I think I can…

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

Hydrographophobia

Posted on February 18, 2011 by auburnchick

Observe…a simple purse…

Take a peek inside…

What’s the big deal, you may wonder.  You carry a few pens with you whereever you go.

Sure you do.  Everyone does.

But, do you have  the assortment that I do?

One quick trip to Office Depot resulted in the purchase of  twenty new pens, which I just cannot be apart from.  When I added them to the highlighters that I use when I grade and the mechanical pencils that I also like to keep on hand…well…it’s almost embarrassing…

I could justify my odd behavior by saying that I am a teacher and must be prepared.

I actually think I harbor a secret fear…

That of not being able to find a pen when I need it.

When I’m out and about and need pens for anything, I refuse to use the ones that store clerks offer.  Their pens are germ-laden, and I just want to gag when I think of how many people’s hands have held them.

And so I continue to accumulate writing utensils.

I checked to see if there was a word that means “fear of running out of pens.” 

There’s not.

Using my knowledge of Greek and Latin suffixes and prefixes, I have hereby made up a new word:

Hydrographophobia

My students would be so proud.

Filed under: This-n-That | 6 Comments »

Next Page »