We do... We do... We do... We do... We Do...

The Gradual Release of Responsibility Model: I do, we do, you do.

This was one of the first education principles I was taught in my program.

No one ever told me that I would perpetually pause on the WE DO stage.

Let me set the scene: We have used the Says/Does chart for our class analysis of literature since the beginning of the year and it's extremely important as we begin our genre exploration unit. It allows them to see that writers are talking to them as readers but also as writers! That all writing can be a model to learn about that genre of writing! They have used this strategy countless times over the last year. On Friday, I went over the assignment they would be working on this week (with the Sub). We went through each step together and filled out the SAYS/DOES chart.

I collected student papers on Tuesday and Wednesday after school. Guess what they still didn't grasp? Don't get me wrong, many students did, but it was hard for them to understand that the DOES side of the chart was talking about writer choices and genre patterns rather than what the subject of the genre DID during the story/article/play/etc.

So although we planned for today to be a day of strategies for reading informational texts, it became review day. Every time we review it, the students GET it. They are shouting out observations that I wouldn't even have thought of! But the second I turn them loose on an assignment, it all becomes mush in their brains.

Favorite moment of the day:

"Mrs. Brown," one 8th grade student began, "that assignment was hard. You weren't here to explain it, so we didn't know what to do."

"Dude," another student interjected before I could even respond, "she explained the whole thing on Friday."

Thank you, dear student, for proving to me that I am getting through!

Moving from "We Do" to "You Do" is a little troublesome, but I'm trying things to prevent that (having them work with partners for one, although the sub nixed those plans immediately because none of the classes could handle working with a partner while a stranger was in charge).

Small vent about substitutes:

Seriously? You didn't get to the assignment? What were you doing for 45 minutes? If you're going to leave me a note saying, "Sorry, we didn't have time to get to the assignment," I would like some kind of explanation. That's all they were supposed to be doing on Wednesday!

But it was Halloween. And it was a sub. And they are 13 years old.

Poor kids.

I did have some opportunities to practice my strict teacher face today though. One thing I love to do now with my behavior lectures is separate myself from the classroom for a minute. For example, students were using a department set of READ magazines for their work these past few days. The sub reported that she threw 5 different magazines away because students had drawn seriously inappropriate pictures on the pages. So, with each of my periods, during my announcement time, I simply said, "Okay, guys. Mrs. Brown is just going to vent for a minute." Then I laid into all of them. I was firm and stern and immovable. I even got all contextual on them and tied these actions to their iPads. "If you can't control yourself with a 10 cent magazine, how can the school trust you with a 600 dollar iPad?" Their faces were all somber, and I conceded that I didn't know which period did it, but it was unacceptable either way. I finished my rant and said, "Okay, rant over. I am glad to be back with you guys; training was great, but I missed this! How was Halloween?" It's a 1-2 minute thing, I make my point, the students know I'm serious, and then we move on. And the students move on with you, which is great. I'm not the mean witch of a teacher after that point, but they know my expectations.

Oh, and 8th graders loathe Justin Bieber. Like a lot. Seriously? I swear - I don't know how to read them. It's like they will play too cool for ANYTHING I bring in just to maintain that edge. Even if they like it. Any ideas for cool 8th grader texts/opportunities?

Oh well...

Training was SOOOO much fun though. And yes... I meant SOOOOOO. Were a few of those days somewhat useless? Oh yeah. I didn't need an entire day with someone holding my hand to show me where the on button to the iPad is, but I'm sure some people did. I guess this is ONE time where being a young, inexperienced intern has its pluses. So I spent a lot of time doing some investigative work on my own and tuning out the iCampus rep (and then I realized I will probably have students doing the same... so I'm planning for time to allow that and time that they know they have to be with me and not jump ahead to adventure into the bliss of the unknown).

But really - the possibilities are endless! Do you have any idea how many AWESOME free books there are out there? Do you have any idea how easy presentations and videos are going to be? Do you have any idea how this will help with my assessments and accommodations for my ESL and SpEd students?

And do you have any idea how much I love my MacBookPro? Apple just knows how to do it. And when you get everything Apple, everything just works so much better together.

Are we using any of it yet? No. Yay for technology glitches, but still! I'm so stoked.