The other day, I posted pictures of the tables I’ve placed in my classroom; however, those pictures don’t really show the changes that have happened in the decor of my room.
First off, here’s my QAR (Question Answer Relationship) bulletin board…
Although the last few letters of the word “Relationship” are uneven, I’m pleased with this, my first BIG bulletin board.
My students created foldables that explained the different types of questions involved in QAR…
I think they did a fabulous job!
The next picture shows you what’s turned into my Anchor Chart Wall…
An anchor chart is a visual that a teacher creates to help students grasp a concept. It’s best to keep these up even after finishing a unit so that students can be reminded of what they’ve learned. These charts can also be pointed to when the opportunity to revisit a strategy occurs. I’m proud of these charts. I’m not very artistic, and my handwriting isn’t the greatest, but these are visual reminders to me of how far I’ve come this year.
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Here’s what my white board typically looks like…
I only have one in my classroom, and I don’t have a SmartBoard. I have removed some of the posters on my wall to project work from the Elmo my mentor secured for me.
An Elmo is like an overhead projector, only you don’t have to run your copies on clear overheads but can put regular documents beneath the lamp. It’s pretty handy!
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Last week, my students wrote author’s purpose paragraphs, using a package of trail mix that I’d given them. Here’s a paragraph that one of my students wrote. Can you guess what the purpose was…persuade, inform, or entertain?
In case you’re wondering, he wrote to entertain. I’ll bet you laughed, just like I did!
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One of my students in first period cannot stop reading a book I took to school…
It’s an excellent book, written by a gal that we knew from our time down in South Florida.
My student told me that her mother is getting mad at her because all she does is talk about what she’s read in the book.
Chalk one up on the side of reading! Woo Hoo!
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Another student, from the same class period, came to class very excited the other day. He told me that he had watched a movie trailer for The Hunger Games, and the lead girl was h-o-t.
Yes, I chuckled.
I’m just happy that he’s making connections between what I’m reading aloud in class to what’s coming out.
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Now that we’re into our sixth month of school, kids are really starting to open up and, if you will, trust. I love this part of teaching…the relationships you develop with your students.
One of the girls I teach in my third period class was very shy at the beginning of the year. I don’t know what helped her open up…perhaps it was the day I shared something from my difficult childhood. I think she connected with me in that moment.
Whatever it was, she’s begun to bloom, and her smile lights up the room. Just ask my friend Barb, who helps me out in third period.
On Friday, this student came by to see me before school started…simply to say hello.
I smiled. She really started off my day well.
When she came in for her regular class period, I told her how much her earlier visit had meant to me. She seemed surprised. She told me that I was “alright.”
I asked what she meant.
She told me that she liked me because I had not written her up one day when she’d cursed in class.
Oh, it’s the little things that make these kids like you sometimes.
I told her that if I wrote up students every time I heard them curse, that’s all I’d be doing instead of teaching.
I also explained that if she’d cursed directly at me, she would have been in trouble.
We smiled at each other in understanding.
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My fourth period class has been my easiest all year. I think I’ve said as much a time or two.
Well, the other day, my students grew distraught when I told them we wouldn’t be doing independent reading.
I was surprised.
They explained that they had grown to LOVE this part of the class period.
I told them that I thought they’d always enjoyed it.
They reminded me that they had complained at the beginning, but I had assured them that they would grow to love it (I don’t remember saying this, but apparently I did).
At first, I’d started them out with five minutes of quiet reading time. Then, I had slowly increased the time, and without knowing it, they found themselves reading twenty minutes, the recommendation by the power-that-be. Most students, struggling readers or not, do not read outside of class. This silent, sustained reading time ensures that students have time to read (or fake it, which I see every day).
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Although I often feel inadequate and way behind where I should be, as I look through the words and pictures I’ve posted above, I am reminded that progress happens in small steps. This is what keeps me going through the days that seem never ending and the frustrations that sometimes build up.
I love this profession, and it’s in the small things that I find the greatest joy and satisfaction.
Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: anchor charts, teaching | 1 Comment »
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