"Stay Gold..."

We've done it. My 7th graders have reached the epic Robert Frost appearance in The Outsiders. Do they have any idea how hallowed this poet is? No. But even they are struck by his epic-ness.

Yes. New word.

Yesterday we focused on the term symbolism. I'm really trying to have my students come up with their own definitions for these literary terms so they can grasp it more readily than I could for them. And, so far, it's working.

I started with a themed prompt about colors: "Pick a color and list everything you think of when you imagine that color in your mind." Were some of my students stuck on a particular object? Yeah. Purple meant Barney and Green meant a frog. But some of them were absolute rockstarts: "Blue is kind of like sadness," one student remarked; "Green is fresh. It's like life," another added. So, when I inevitably turned the discussion to the color Gold, we were ready. I had students do a mini research project on gold - how it's mined and how it's refined until all of the impurities are taken out. We talked about how gold symbolized perfection and one way-too-smart-for-his-own-good student added, "That's why olympians get GOLD medals. They're perfect. Or the very best in the world at least." It was great.

So today, we talked about what this poem means for the novel as a whole. Started with a White Board Discussion (since on student response sheets many students remarked that they wished they could get a break from writing in their journals), and students responded to the question: What did Ponyboy mean when he said "Nothing gold can stay?"

It was probably one of my favorite classes to this point. They talked about how things that are precious to us won't always be precious because we'll grow and change and people will leave. They talked about how nothing good lasts forever. They talked about how nothing and no one is perfect and so our "perfect" moments are always stolen by the imperfections of others. I'm serious. All them.

So we reviewed the poem and broke it down. Talked about seasons, made personal connections, talked about Christian theology (which was tricky and I was sure to say several times that the reference to Eden was an allusion to Christian beliefs and that I wasn't teaching Christian doctrine but explaining how "Eden" relates to this concept or symbol of "gold." Hope that was clear!)

It was beautiful... We made some connections and looked forward in the novel, made some predictions, etc.

I had a 276 student from another class come into my room to observe for a period and she came up to me afterwards and remarked, "You do a really good job asking guiding questions for discussion." Why thank you, kind soon-to-be-teacher. It's true - today was a beautiful day for discussion.

As we talked about what it meant to "Stay Gold..." I realized that my experience at Dixon has been a golden one - I've learned so much and grown so much and it's hard to accept that "Nothing gold can stay..." But with the end of every golden dawn comes the promise of an even brighter day... and inevitably, I will see that golden dawn again. It's just a day away.

So I sent off 5+ requests for letters of recommendation. I've requested a Sub for Teacher Fair days. I've started revising my resume and researching other school districts in the area.

And I'm looking forward to the end of something gold, so I can look forward to something maybe less precious, but just as beautiful.

P.S. Might have developed a fever around 2:30pm today. Chills and all. I think I'm going home. ;)

POPPING

Can I just tell you how much I stress about meeting with my principal - maybe it's because so much is riding on him and how he feels about me, but even when I'm prepared up the WAHZOO, I feel like I'm a 5-year-old in his office.

But he called me in today to meet him about some assessment reflections. Good thing I'm the most reflective person I know. Yes - I've self-dubbed myself with the nickname "Mirror." It happened. Today. :D

Needless to say, I was pooped when I left his office. Did he confirm that he has a desire to keep me at the school and that I'm doing good things here? Yeah. Did he also encourage me to NOT HOLD MY BREATH and wait around for an offer here? Yeah. He said he would only know in April if there was a position available and he encouraged me to be looking for employment opportunities at other schools.

Yeah.

Again - no answers - and I'm reading way too much into everything. What can I say. I'm a FEMALE ENGLISH TEACHER. It's what I was born to do.

But my lack of energy in regards to the unknown is a little scary. I've sent some messages to old friends who are working as teachers, asking about districts, employment researching tools, etc, but all of it feels so incredibly intimidating that I'm seizing up just thinking about it. How do I even get this grown-up thing called a job?

One piece of advice I've received - buy a new "POPPING" outfit for the teacher fair. Bright colors. Style it up. Look REALLY good to ensure there's no chance of forgetting me.

Is it bad that the shopping aspect may be the most overwhelming of all?

So I'm on the search. "POPPING" outfit and new job - here I come. I'm not scared of you at all. Nope. Not even a little.

(Okay. I lied. It's really a whole lot.)

What I Would Give...

Momentary vent - I was recently contacted by another English Education major who is doing her practicum now and has applied for an internship. Typically, BYU tries to put students for their practicum at the same school they will be at for their internship or student teaching - granted, that didn't happen for me, but whatevs - and I got an email from this student yesterday, introducing herself by saying, "Hey, I'm the intern that's going to take your place next year." I had to choke down my pride at that moment while secretly wishing she understood the feeling of trying so incredibly hard to do your very best at absolutely everything and be the best, most caring, most rigorous and understanding teacher there could ever be, just to not know what your future holds. So - choking all of my emotions down and realizing that this is a great opportunity to answer HER questions and help her (like I wish someone would have done for me) - I replied, gave her all of my room information, let her know how excited I was to have her in my classroom, and received a reply which stated, "I'll be coming tomorrow for periods 1-3."

I prepped my cute little 7th graders for a visitor, but she never showed up. Yes, I admit, my first reaction was a horrible little mental comment along the lines of "Well, I see how committed you are to this thing... don't even show up....psh." But then I took a look outside and felt incredibly guilty - what if something happened to her? Provo roads were atrocious this morning with all of the snow. I hope she's okay!

And I keep asking myself - why am I so bothered by this? She's going to be here MAYBE 9 times total. It's not a big deal.

And then it hits me. It bugs me because I love it here. I love my room. I love my students. I love being a teacher and I love all of it. I love emailing parents to let them know about student concerns to show them how much I care about their children. I love working with other teachers to help them discover new ways to use technology or to collaborate for new teaching ideas. I love this school. What I would give to be here again - even for a repeat FIRST year, which is a big deal. I've learned so much and grown so much, and I'm grateful for each and every one of those opportunities.

So, dear Practicum student, I hope that you are okay. And I hope you know how blessed you are to be at this school. :D

Promise I'm not bitter..... Or at least I promise to get over it. ;)

P.S. - Greatest book report idea: Character Interview. Have students choose one character, come up with interview questions and answer them as the character, using evidence from the book to support their answers. My 7th graders loved it. Great idea.

Oh the Days...

My memories of middle school... well, I'm fond of them. I was involved in every club/sport under the sun. I mean seriously - I was even on the cross country team! I did really well in school, I won awards, I had some of the most amazing teachers (that I'm still wanting to reconnect with to this day to let them know, "Hey, I became a middle school teacher!"), I loved it.

Granted - was I the most awkward person alive? Heck yes. I had absolutely no idea what was going on with my body - I still shudder when I see pictures! I had no idea about hygiene - I remember being teased about the fact that I didn't bring a new pair of socks every day for P.E. until the beginning of the week. Yes. I wore the same pair of socks every day for P.E. for a week.

I'm so glad that I've matured.

Well, today was the second half of our silly block day schedule. Started the day with a 90 minute prep period (which is how I now think everyday should start. Wow, I got so much done!). Followed by my last two periods of 7th graders. Were they a little worked up with it being Friday? Yeah. But everything went well.

Then came the last 90 minutes of the day - and I was in Assembly Group A which meant we went to Dixon's Got Talent first. And, sadly, I got my first up-close-and-personal look at how horrible middle schoolers are to each other.

I watched these brave souls take the stage and do their little dance routines or sing their little songs and I was transported back to those days of old when I took the stage and sang - yes, I did - the exact same song.

What I was unprepared for was the reactions of the students I was "watching over" during the performance. A sweet pair of girls took the stage and sang a very well-done rendition of Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat's "Lucky."

Yes, you horrid 8th grade boys, it was a song sung by a boy and girl and now two sweet girls are on stage singing about being in love with their "best friends," but that is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to start making lesbian jokes to your neighbor. And yes, I can hear you. And see you. And I'm not going to stop giving you the stink eye until you decide to quit your little antics and watch the performance like a decent human being who cares about other people's feelings.

I'm serious - here these talented students were, trying their very best to impress the student body with their talents.... And each of them were secretly being laughed at by these students surrounding me. And all I could do was give them the stink eye?

I wanted to pull him out of the auditorium and give him a piece of my mind - but was that really my place? What would I have said? Either way, I think I know where I'll be spending my time looking for informational texts to pull from in January - articles about bullying. I think it may be a good place to start.

It was my first dose of the mean side of middle school - I guess I need to get a reality check. Hopefully my own ignorance is evidence that my room is a "safe" place.... Oh well...

Broke my heart a little though... Some people can just be mean.

Block Day Bleh...

I used to envy my other interning associates at schools where they have "POD" English classes - two periods of English, twice as much time, all that jazz.

But today - I'm grateful for my measly 45 minutes every day.

Don't get me wrong, I still love the idea of a block schedule and I know it was ten times more effective for me as a student when I got to high school, but when you switch it up so suddenly on the entire student body, there's bound to be an explosion.

So periods 1-4 came through my door today.

And yes - my prep is 5th, so I'll start with that tomorrow! YEAH! While mourning the loss of a prep today. Sad face.

90 minute periods. Yikes.

How many times did my third period class ask me when my class ended? Nearly 12. Serious. Even after I answered their question with one of my own: "Does anyone know what question Mrs. Brown hates the most?" I probably should have just answered the darn question. I just didn't want them looking up at the clock for 90 minutes. Poor kids. I tried to do a more lively activity, but it was too much so I abandoned it after first period.

Oh well.

No wonder students need ORDER and REPETITION in their lives. When you throw a curveball like a block day, things are bound to be off.

But, despite it all, we're doing good. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

And the Award Goes to....

Award-winning moments of the day:

- Listened to my sad eighth graders. Changed the way I did my reading quiz today. Passed out individual quizzes, had them take the quiz, grade a partner's quiz and pass it back. Took way too long (so I'm a fan of the as-a-class-quiz method, but it does give me less authentic assessment results). One student who I have struggled to motivate in the past, zipped through the quiz and was doing really well. He turned the page over to the back after finishing the simple 3-question quiz, looked up at me and asked, "That's it?" I nodded discreetly - c'mon, it was a quiz - and he, aloud to the class, states "HA! That was easy." I couldn't contain my excitement. Immediately, I reached into my secret drawer of yummies, pulled out three pieces of candy and threw each one, individually, at him. He just laughed, but I pulled him aside and thanked him after class for doing the work and realizing, on his own, that what I ask from students isn't difficult if they just do their part. Biggest grin on his face - EVER.  (Of course, this moment also took the rest of my students completely off task with questions like, "Hey! Why does HE get candy?!" but that was a price I was willing to pay.)

- Multiple students walked into my classroom this morning during intervention time. With a few words out of my mouth, they inquired, "Mrs. Brown, are you sick?" I turned to them and in the sickest of sick, manliest of manly voices, I replied, "Why would you think that?" It sparked a "manly" conversation for the next ten minutes -- meaning we fake talked like men through intervention time. It was enough of a moment to get me through the rest of the day.

- Reached Chapter 4 in the Outsiders today. Not far, I know, but I've had almost 20 students come up to me begging for the book to take home and read. I've had a few very bright students confess that they got it from the library over the weekend and finished it already. WOW. Ponyboy just ran away and they are on the edge of their seats all class period. I bought the movie myself - cause let's face it, who doesn't want to own the goodness of The Outsiders on DVD... the most 80's of 80's films I've ever seen. I showed a clip in class today summarize part of the story (WHICH IS SO INCREDIBLY HARD TO DO! I HATE SKIPPING PARTS OF THIS NOVEL! IT's TORTURE!), and it was my students, not me, that complained about skipping more pages. Thank you, S.E. Hinton for writing such a time-forsaken classic. 

- I applied some lessons from my Daycare experience this past summer. (WHAT? Working with ten 4-year-olds came in handy? Yeah....). Remember my first take-to-the-office student? The one who I got switched to my 1st period class? Well, he's better, but still likes to make a ruckus in class - and let's face it: even in my class of angels (aka first period), those students still appreciate a class clown. I dismissed him from class today to get a drink when he couldn't control his laughter - which was extremely out of place and inappropriate for our topic of discussion - and when he purposefully took over my TV screen to show pictures of himself to the class. Yeah. Good stuff. I pulled him aside after class and told him I had a secret for him. I pulled out an empty baby food jar and asked what his favorite kind of candy was.

"Skittles," he replied.

"Tell you what, (student)," I began, "I've got a deal for you. You've been doing a pretty good job in 1st period, but I still notice that you make some not so good decisions sometimes when you want to show off for the class. So I came up with this idea to help you to remember to make good decisions. Every time you make a good decision in class like today when you raised your hand to share your journal prompt, or when you took notes on your iPad, I'm going to give you a signal - I'm going to give you a thumbs up and I want you to keep tally of every time I do. At the end of class, I'll put that many skittles in this jar. When the jar gets filled up, I will give you a special prize. I know how much you love music - how would you feel about an iTunes gift card?"

"Yeah - that'd be cool."

"Okay, great. So we'll start this tomorrow. However, if there are times that I have to walk by your desk and tap your shoulder, that's a sign that whatever you're doing needs to change, or I'm gonna have to eat some of those skittles from the jar. And I really like skittles. Do we have a deal?"

It was great. He left pretty excited. Will it work? No idea, but I wanted a visual way of showing him when he's doing well and when he can improve. 

These are award-winning moments in my book. 

A Little Early, Don't You Think?

So - school hasn't even started.

I have no idea how today will go, though I feel in my bones the promise of an uneventful day (crossing fingers).

My students are just reviewing key literary terms by finding examples from their novels...

But I'm sick.

Yum.

So I'm going home as soon as possible after that bell rings...

But I did not want to forget the two moments of this morning:

- Asst. Principal comes up to me with a piece of paper and says, "We want you back next year. Sign this please." WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?! I looked at him a little starry-eyed and said, "Really?" I'm sure he could tell from the surprise/bewilderment/absolute elation on my face that he said something not quite right. He takes the piece of paper back and asks, "How did we hire you again?" I replied, "As an intern." "Oh - then you don't need to sign this." My heart may have fallen to my feet at that moment. If only he'd known how much I was wanting that invitation to return. "We'd love to have you back next year," he rewound his words to lessen the damage to my heart, "but we won't know about that for a little while." Yup. Awesome moment of the morning.

- Shortly after the above incident, the teacher in charge of the "Teacher of the Year" Award came up to me and said, "You know you were nominated for Teacher of the Year. Unfortunately, since you're an intern, you don't qualify. But still - that's such an incredible sign!" Yes, my friends, I'm making progress in this world.

They were just the moments I needed to get me through until 3:30pm when I shall go home and sleep until tomorrow. :D

OMG(sh).

Let me just drop the bomb for you: 

15% of my 8th graders actually did their reading last night. So those cutesy, awesome lesson plans I created were absolutely worthless. I can't have a learning activity if they have no IDEA what I'm talking about!

Spent those periods reading and summarizing the chapters so that my students were caught up. And fake crying.

Fun moment: I put my head in my book in utter frustration and pretended to sob. A believable sob is all in the shoulders and the quiet, uneven intakes of breath. One of my darling 8th graders said - to the rest of the class - "Come on guys! You're making Mrs. Brown cry! Seriously! Just read the book!"

Epic moment: Shortly after the above moment, I turned to the same darling 8th grader with a question about the chapters that were assigned and - GASP of all GASPS - she couldn't answer it. The class really jumped on that one: "YOU didn't read and you're telling all of us we have to read! Look who shouldn't be talking!" 

Please remember - these comments were make with smiles and laughs and I talked to said darling student to chastise her for not reading and make sure she was okay with the teasing. 

So - most of my 2nd period currently has C's. Because now, they've bombed 2 reading quizzes. Like big time. 

OMG(sh). 

Granted - let's be honest - have there been times I went to class and hadn't read? Oh yeah. It happens. But I always felt so guilty for it, I would go right home and read the rest of the book. 

I told all my 8th graders that they had 1 last chance and that if 5 people did not read the chapters on this THREE-DAY-WEEKEND, I would have them leave the books here and we would read the novel in class and they would have worksheets and assignments to take home. 

Ouch.

Seriously - most merciful teacher ever award? Anyone? Anyone? 

***

There is something about Fridays though - I think it's the jeans. I always feel above the world on Fridays... not in a prideful, "I look down upon you" way, but in a "You can't touch me," "No one can steal my happiness" kind of way. Even the whole incident with the 8th graders - lecture was not an option. I chose the route of Overdramatic, broken-hearted teacher and it was so much more enjoyable to look crazy then to be crazy (because, let's face it, that's how students look at lectures on behavior). Don't get me wrong - I meant business and they knew it - but I had students promising the overdramatic, crazy English teacher, "I promise I'll read!"

Love it.

Love Friday.

The No-Show-Ers...

Yesterday, during 7th period, the vice-principal comes to visit, asking if I'll attend a meeting in the conference room at 3:00.

I'm the "YES" girl, so I found myself sitting in a meeting with some other great teachers after school. Said Vice-Principal announces that our school will be hosting some visitors from the Utah Senate Education Committee and he wanted us to adapt our lesson plans for tomorrow (which was today) to show off some of the ways we have used technology and learning APPs in our classroom.

Was I planning on a technology-robust lesson? After yesterday's fiascos? No.

But I don't say "no" very well.

So, I whipped up something I thought would be creative (a student-directed, short research project on some of the background topics they would need to know about as we got further into our novels. OH YEAH). Planned the lesson to a T, and created several back-up ideas just in case.

Did the technology work - perfectly. Things were great.

Did the senate committee members show up - NO.

Don't worry, I'm not crying myself to sleep tonight. I promise. But it was a rush of panic, adrenaline, and more panic planning that lesson; however, I thought, if it takes an honored visitor to push me out of my comfort zone a little to see that students could - in a 20 minute period - do the required research and put together a presentation for tomorrow's class, then it was well worth it.

On a different note:

- 50% of my 8th graders actually did the reading yesterday. SAD FACE. (yes. I spelled it out) The quiz thing worked great. In one class, they got a 3 out of 10 on the first question, so I offered a second chance question. Too bad the student I chose to answer didn't read the book. I had students walking out of my class saying, "DUDE! Why didn't you read!?" or telling other students, "GUYS! Make SURE you read tonight!" I love not having to be the one to say those things. I explained that if they didn't read, I would take the books back and they would be required to read in class and do worksheets at home. Yeah - they weren't fans of that option. We'll see what tomorrow holds.

- I got through chapter 1 of The Outsiders today. Day 2 = chapter 1 completed. Yeah. I'm already behind. Anyone think that my darling 7th graders will be able to read all of Chapter 2 to themselves tomorrow? Yeah - no. I'm dreading the surgical procedure I will probably need to perform on this novel in order to get through it without transforming it into my next torture method. I don't want to cut out paragraphs of character description or background information - they need to know that stuff! That's why it was included in the book! I did - CONFESSION - skip 1 and 1/2 pages in one class today so that we COULD finish chapter 1 in time. The groans around the room when I announced the need to skip was enough to break my heart. They didn't want me to skip it either... Funny thing - I'm getting kids asking if they can check out the book from the library and read ahead. BY ALL MEANS, my lov-er-ly little students. BY ALL MEANS! Just don't give it all away.

- Remember the darling child who likes to rap explicit songs in class and talk back and throw tantrums while I'm teaching? The one I had to walk to the principal's office? Well, things haven't necessarily gotten worse, but they haven't gotten better. This student's mom and I have become great e-mail friends and I send her an update every week on his behavior in class. With the change in semester, I begged her to see if he could be switched to my 1st period class (writing and reading and sitting still for someone with severe ADHD at 1:00 in the afternoon is not the easiest task in the world). So today was day one of the switch. IT WAS LIKE SOMEONE FLIPPED A SWITCH in his cute little noggin. He was raising his hand, reading along, taking notes without complaining.... WOW! I should have fought for it harder last term, but I was told it wasn't an easy switch, so I gave up. BAD, BABY TEACHER. Never give up. I'm so excited to see what tomorrow holds for him.

- To be honest, I have (up to this point) done a LOT of writing in class. All of my previous units had small readings, small narratives, short articles, to accompany a writing task. Granted, we're doing a writing assignment with the novel (that's just how it has to work!), but I'm seeing a new side of some of my students after having a sustained reading opportunity. Now, the question is, how can I get them to keep that reading going on at home!?

Today - breath of fresh air. Probably because I dressed up and actually did my hair today... None of this braid and scrunchy curls stuff. :) You're talking dress and dried, curled hair. Today was the first day all week my hair didn't freeze when I stepped outside to come to work....

Yeah...

T'was a great day.

OH MY GOSH...

Can you say crazy day?

Hectic day?

How about...

batty day?
deranged day?
beat myself over the head day?

Yeah. It was one of those. Things I know for sure: - Students did not turn in their during reading assignments. Technology decided to completely renounce any connection with me starting.... 1st period. Good thing the books we're reading are ultimately the most captivating part of it all - cause the fact that most of my students couldn't take their eyes off of me or their noses out of their books was the best assessment I could use to see if they were on-task.  - I'm going to kill The Outsiders if I keep reading it like this. We got through 10 pages today after doing our journal write, attempting to send an assignment, establishing new procedures for students getting their novels at the beginning of class, explaining how students will know if they have an assignment.... Yeah. 10 pages. Were they a GREAT 10 pages? Oh yeah. These kids were eating out of my hands. Still - I don't see a way that we can read the whole book in under 4 weeks while still completing all of the other assignments necessary like vocabulary, background information, critical thinking... GAH. I hate it - but I think I'll have to try some chapter summary, show movie clip kind of options. Oh the days of my idealism - thinking I could teach 4 novels in a year.... (don't be mistaken, I still think I could, even after today. I just have realized how IMPOSSIBLE it would feel).  - My 8th graders love my voices. Downriver has some characters from lots of different places with lots of different personalities. Rita, the don't-mess-with-me-New-Yorker, got laughs out of my students when I read her dialogue. Loved it.  - I'm being worked-over. I had a new student come to me today asking if she could transfer to my class. I asked why - thinking that would be enough and she would be honest with me - and she said she had some class changes and her schedule didn't work out with her old English teacher. Today, said English teacher comes into my class, asks if I have this new student, and says that I was lied to. Yup. Her schedule worked fine to stay in this teacher's class - she just didn't know anyone in the other class and wanted to transfer to a class where she did know people. So, my BS-radar might be much more off than I had anticipated. Never even saw that coming. And now I'm feeling like a dope for not speaking with the other English teacher about it. I mean really - wouldn't a "together" teacher have talked with her old English teacher about the student before giving in blindly and saying "Yes, of course! Totally fine!"  - I need a tool that works. Desperately. We've used Edmodo - it was great, but, with the iPads, I couldn't figure out a way that students could download an assignment from the library, work on it, and UPLOAD it back to Edmodo to submit it to me. That is why everything got emailed. Well guess what got disabled over the break? The Mail App on the iPad. So, they introduced this new program - iAssignments. I thought it'd be great. I can push out my assignments to all of my classes, they can open it in notability, work on it, and resubmit it back to me. There's no way to give them individual feedback through the program, but it was an option. Now? iAssignments is the most temperamental app I have ever worked with. It works for 5 students in the class, then randomly shuts down. Works one period, not the next. And the classes/teachers haven't been updated, so any of my new students can't see assignments I've posted yet. Oh - and some students just can't log on. Period. Great. So, today, I'm learning about iTunesU. Maybe I can create my own class there and THAT will work. I have no idea. I'm just trying what I can. But if I choose a new program, I'd better count on using another class period to teach students how to use that technology.... Vent over? Maybe.... It really was great to see so many of my students - including my non-readers - engaged in the novels today. I'm excited to see what they have to offer.  I'm gonna spend the next 5 minutes breathing, crossing my fingers for my next two classes, and listening to some tunes. I can do this.  Here's to achieving what sometimes feels impossible to achieve. You better believe I'm gonna do it.

Gearing it All Up...

Hello Argumentative Writing Unit/Novel Unit. So nice to see you. How are you doing so far?

We begin reading tomorrow. My 7th graders will be reading in class. I'm not sure how I feel about that but I've filled my bucket with some out-loud, in-class reading strategies that I'm going to be trying out within the first few days:

- I'll read out loud while students follow along and complete an assignment while I read.
- Students will popcorn read (I was going to nix this, but the students actually requested it.)
- I'll get my hands on an audio book for the novels I've chosen and play chapters from that.
- I'll have students read individually, giving them a certain amount of time to read a certain amount of pages.
- Students will read in groups (not my favorite idea since it's so hard to hear when 6 people are reading throughout the classroom in different parts, but it's an idea. Maybe I'll have them find their own spots and report back at a certain time with an comprehension assessment activity).
- Cold call reading. Keeps them on task with a certain amount of motivating anxiety to follow along.
- Reader's Theater - Choose a student to be a certain character or narrator. They read those specific parts. I can change around those casted students after a certain amount of time.

We'll see how these turn out.

My 8th graders, on the other hand, are reading at home. We're still going to read Chapter 1 tomorrow in class, and do an introductory activity, but I'll be assigning chapters to be read at home. Another English teacher gave me a good idea for motivating students to read: establish a procedure of quizzes where, at the beginning of class, you pick on a random student and ask a quiz question. The student, if they read, would answer the question to the best of their knowledge and I would give them a score - FOR THE WHOLE CLASS. That way, if a student did NOT read, there are some social consequences rather than just my grading consequences. Granted, I will offer 1 second chance opportunity for the class to get some points back if that were the case, but this is a great way to motivate my 8th graders to actually read.

Again, we'll see how this turns out.

Today, we had a classroom debate based on the anticipation guide I gave the students yesterday. They decided whether they agreed/disagreed about some tough issues, and I put an "AGREE" and a "DISAGREE" sign on opposite sides of the classroom. Students went to the side they decided on and they attempted to "persuade" the individuals on the other side to change their opinions based on specific evidence. Those students responsible for persuading other students to change their minds, got a treat.

7th grade. Worked great. Even my 2nd period 8th graders did well (other than some unnecessary chatting). But (CAN YOU ALREADY GUESS WHERE MY "BUT" IS GOING?)... 4th period was less than stellar.

The movement around the classroom was far too much for them, evidenced by their incessant talking, their lack of respect for the expectations THEY set at the beginning of class, and their behavior while moving (some students were purposefully trying to trip their friends, some students were going through other students' backpacks thinking I wouldn't notice, some students were moaning and groaning about having to stand and participate). Finally, I just said, "Go sit down please." Again - completely unemotional. Quiet voice.

They sat, and I just proceeded with the debate from there. Less of a debate, though. More like a large classroom discussion.

And that worked fine. Not great. But fine. Didn't make it a big deal. Didn't lecture. Just adapted and moved on.

That's a Drop of Awesome for me. Just sayin.

What went well today:

- 7th grade: Really got into the issues. Shared personal experiences and examples. Ate up the chance to persuade their classmates to move over to their side. Asked some difficult questions and made some interesting predictions for The Outsiders.

- 8th grade: Totally got the point of the activity (almost to the point of "DUH, as if it wasn't obvious!") Made predictions for the novel. Participated in class. Ate up the chance to SHUT-DOWN someone else's argument with the justification of "YOLO." Sparked a discussion about the "YOLO" mentality which was perfectly related to some of the issues and attitudes from the novel Downriver. Now didn't that play out nicely?!

What I'm worried about:

- Killing the novel, The Outsiders, because we have to read it in class and won't have tons of time for discussion, other text complements, and exploration since I want to be done with it before mid-February.

- My 8th graders NOT reading outside of class.

- Parents getting a little worked up about other students getting grades based on one student's answer.

- Vocabulary instruction. How can I make it fun without feeling like it's just another thing to do? Like one more reason to stop and talk?

- Differentiation. How can I see to the needs of each of my students while trying to progress through this novel, stick to the schedule, and get my 8th graders prepped for the DWA test?


Well, I'm off to prep for tomorrow. Putting 60+ books in ziploc bags, creating a book-sign-out agreement for my 8th graders to sign, publishing tomorrow's assignments to student iPads - all that jazz.

Let the fun begin!

Crazy, Crazy, Crazy...

Oh Mondays...

Friday was great - gotta love end of term! But the first day of term is always an adventure. New students, transferring students, and Powerschool deletes all of your seating charts! Good thing I made a hard copy. Smart move, baby teacher. Smart move.

I love the opportunities for technology at this school, but - boy - technology takes a lot of time to teach. You would think that with a group of young minds who were born in the technological age, they would just catch on. And, of course, they do. But to have them do things in a specific way so that you can have access to their work is a whole different story. Opening an assignment from the school's IASSIGNMENT App and editing it in Notability took a good 5-7 minutes to explain. Add to that all of the students who said (despite my attempts to check this beforehand) that they didn't have the app, and that was 5 more minutes. In a 35 minute class period, that's the majority of class. Granted, teaching them once and repeating the process tomorrow will help and will be worth it in the end, but technology is a skill, too, and it takes time to learn.

I can't blame those students who get lost because they went ahead of my instructions though. I've decided that teachers often make the worst students because WE do what we don't want our kids to. We go ahead. We explore. We take things into our own hands, assuming we know what's going on. It's made things quite funny during our technology trainings, almost like these 40-50 teachers magically morphed into students from my 7th grade classes. "Wait, I don't get it!" or "I don't know where I am!" or "How did you do that again?" or "Whoa - how did you get there?" comments fill the room.

And I AM that kind of student - the I-need-to-figure-this-out-on-my-own-and-you're-going-a-little-too-slow-for-my-pace-so-I'm-going-to-go-ahead-despite-your-directions kind of student. Yup. I confessed. And, to be honest, it's proven to be a good thing, but I do miss some instructions.

So, today, when I saw most of my 4th period class moving ahead of my directions, I didn't get all worked up by it. I just said, "Hey, if you want to go ahead, that's fine, but I want to make sure you do this correctly so you can send it back to me and get credit for your work, so you might want to keep an ear open to my directions." More often than not, that simple declaration was enough to at least keep their eyes on me long enough to understand what I wanted them to do.

That kind of differentiation is really difficult. Though I am the going-ahead-of-the-teacher kind of student (and though I have many students similar to me in that aspect), I have many students who NEED the step by step, direction by direction method. They get lost if I give them multiple steps at once - they need it broken down. So, how do I play to both? Usually a comment like, "once you get there, read the directions and get started," helps, but it also invites students to fool around because they've noticed they're ahead, and they assume that means they've earned themselves some free time. Also, I've realized that explaining the purpose and directions for an assignment before we get into the step-by-step stuff helps, because, then, once students get to the necessary page, they are already equipped with the knowledge to go ahead without my watchful eye and careful explanations (so I can work with those students who need a little more explicit instruction). Either way, differentiation is difficult - if I go to slowly, some students get bored. If I move too quickly, some students get lost. Neither is particularly advantageous for me, but I'm working on developing more strategies to handle the task.

Last lesson of the day - I promise - though it's not an absolute. Remember when I stressed about pinpointing the differences in needs and preferences between 7th and 8th grade? Well, again, I'm making progress.

My 8th graders want to feel like they have input in my planning. I am giving them more choices and more opportunities to let their voices be heard in my class. For example, I just found enough copies in the school of the novel I was going to read with my 8th graders so that everyone can have their own copy - no sharing. So, I gave the decision to them. Do you want to read it in class and take activities/worksheets home to do for homework or do you want to take a novel home, accept responsibility for it (if you lose it, you pay for it) and read assigned chapters every night and do activities/worksheets in class? Both 8th grade periods were koo-koo-for-co-co-puffs with the latter option. So that was what they decided on Friday. Today, I gave it to them again. Do you want to have this be the novel you read for Novel #1 rather than choosing your own novel and reading two books at once? Most of them said yes even when I warned them that this would mean I would assign more chapters for them to read as homework every night. And they visually appreciated it. They liked having a voice.

My 7th graders, on the other hand, have a harder time accepting the responsibility of making those kinds of choices. They are much more inclined to take directions from me, than make a decision on their own (and, they get a little more touchy if their opinion isn't accepted by the majority). Again, just an observation! Will they probably change halfway through this novel and regret their choice? Maybe, but it was their choice, so I'm not to blame!

What can I say? It's a crazy Monday, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

BROWNIE POINTS!

I must say - I have my dear husband to thank for setting me up for one of the AWESOMEST moments of the term. Without him, I would not be Mrs. Brown. Therefore the oh-so-motivating and true-to-my-punny-nature "Brownie Points" would cease to exist.

So thanks, Babe.

But really. Here's a sampling of the comments I heard today when students walked in the door, saw the oodles of prizes by my desk, and turned to me to say....

"I knew there was a reason I came to school today!"

"Mrs. Brown - I promise - I got like 20 Brownie Points this term, but I forgot to put them in the bowl! Can I do it now?!" (I may not have won any personal brownie points with this student because I said no. That, and I kind of knew the 20+ Brownie Point claim was a lie.)

"Sweet! She has book prizes!"

"Oh we're doing THAT thing today?"

"Please Mrs. Brown - just pull out one more name! I know it will be me! I just know it!"

Don't you just love Middle School?

It was a really fun day of reflection. I had them draw a Venn Diagram on their iPads to compare/contrast the two terms of school they have had so far this year. Some students were incredibly perceptive:

"Teachers are meaner in term two!"

"I think I have more friends this term than I did last term."

"There's a lot more homework this term than last term."

"We have iPads now and we didn't before!"

We talked about each of the things they noticed (had a whole discussion about WHY teachers WERE meaner during 2nd term. And it was not a teacher (aka not me) who pointed out that it's because teachers understood if you forgot an assignment or were late to class because you got lost when it was a new school year. But now, they KNOW you KNOW, so they are expecting more from you. Now that was a proud moment.

They talked about how iPads are helping them learn more and have more time to learn. Again, not my realization. It was theirs.

And then, I reminded them that at the end of term I, as their teacher, have to give them a grade. But, I paused then, very dramatically of course, and in a low voice told them I had a secret:

"Wanna hear?" (my 7th graders at this point have their eyes wide open with grins). "Teachers are just STUDENTS in disguise."

They rolled their eyes, but I continued, "I mean it. Everyday you teach me something new. I come in with a lesson and you teach me that it wasn't exciting enough or you teach me that I need to explain things better in a way you can better understand. YOU teach ME. So, as YOUR student, I need you to give me a grade."

Yup. This was the moment I passed out those wonderful Student Response Handouts where they give feedback on my teaching.

Not going to lie - I was a little nervous about the results I would get from my 8th graders. So - I took an extra moment with them to talk about the etiquette required to be a good grader:

"Have any of you ever gotten a paper back with a comment from me saying, 'This is stupid. I hated reading this.'?"

Some of my sassy eighth graders replied affirmatively, but I set myself up for that, I guess.

"I mean it! Have you?"

Their replies: "No - that would be BULLYING!"

"Yeah! That's like abuse!"

"I wouldn't do anything in your class ever again if you said that to me!"

We took a moment to talk about why teachers would NEVER write that - and, again, a student pointed out the reason: because those comments don't do anything to help students improve and get better.

So, I turned it back on them. "I really don't mind if you hate my class. I promise I don't lose sleep at night. However, before you write my class off completely, I want you to give me feedback that I can actually use to IMPROVE! I can't promise that I will make you like my class, but I can promise that I will use your feedback to try to be a better teacher for you."

And you know what - they surprised me. Even the students that have verbally told me how much they hate my class were giving me good marks as a teacher (I promise, I wasn't looking over their shoulders, but I noticed a few. :D).

And so, as I ride off into the Sunset of the weekend, I'm ready for what they have to say, and I'm ready (as I hope they are) to make some changes and improvements for Term 3.

HALFWAY DONE, PEOPLE! FOR REAL!

Drops of Awesome...

A few days ago, I sat at our Staff Training Meeting and had our Special Ed Director reach over the table and ask me, "Are you coming back next year?" I replied the only way I could - "It's really not up to me. I would love the opportunity to be here another year, but that's up to the big guy!" as I nodded my head in the Principal's direction.

That same day, this teacher walked out of the school just as I was about to climb into my car to drive home. I waited a moment before climbing in so I could wave goodbye. As I did so, she called out, "Cali, I want to co-teach with you next year! It's gonna happen! I'm talking to [the principal]!"

At first I was overjoyed - I mean, seriously, who doesn't love evidence that they are doing something right!? That they're appreciated!?

But then, the Voice crept in.

I don't like to talk about the Voice much, mostly because I'd like to believe it's not actually there. I'm usually just trying to ignore the darn thing or avoid it like Walmart on Black Friday.

But it's there. That thing. That nasty little meddler who takes my opportunities for happiness and dunks them in the trash like LeBron James.

Just as I thought to myself, "SEE? Look! I'm doing something right. I'm an asset to this school and I'm proving that I CAN do this job despite all of its difficulties..." the Voice showed up.

"You really think that's what she meant? How could you possibly be an asset to the school? You've been here for less than a semester, you still don't know everyone's names at the school, and you're just going to be someone who used to teach here in about 4 months, replaced by another intern. Probably one better than you. That teacher was probably just saying that because she's heard how BAD you are and she wants to make sure she co-teaches with you so you don't mess up as BAD as you have been."

Please remember - I'm not psycho. I know this voice is completely irrational and a bit dramatic, if I do say so myself. But it's always there.

Then I found this blog post - not a day after this happened - and things changed a little bit.

I am not the sum of my shortcomings. I am the sum of the opportunities where I DID what was right. Where I DID succeed. Where I WAS AWESOME. Just because one class didn't go so well, doesn't mean I failed. It meant 5 of my classes did great! 5 flippin' drops of AWESOME!

I can't tally my failures as proof that the Voice is right. Because the Voice is so NOT awesome and has no say.

So today - when we began our debates (practicing our methods of argumentative writing) - one of my classes bombed. Big. Every student who got up to debate looked at me like, "Well, what am I supposed to say?" While the rest of my students took off running. Got so excited about the opportunity for extra credit for the winning team, that I actually had to cut the debates short so everyone could get a turn! So what happened with that one class?

I put my failure to the side and tried again. With 7 minutes left of class, I threw my lesson plans out the window and turned to my students. I said, "You aren't ready for this? Fine. I wish you'd listened to my directions today, but I realize that maybe this isn't a topic you're ready for. So, I turn to you. What would you want to debate?"

Instantly, they said, "XBOX360 vs. PlayStation 3!"

"Okay then," I replied. "It's your choice. But you STILL have to make sure your argument has the three necessary parts we talked about!"

And then - that class caught on fire. Students were jumping out of their seats to get tapped in to argue. The bell rang and students stayed in their seats to get in a last word. They started walking out of the classroom continuing the argument down the hall.

For the moment before I changed plans, I felt that failure. I felt the Voice getting worked up for another round of attack.

But then, I adapted. I changed. I moved on to a different strategy. Drop of Awesome.

Here's to the Drops of Awesome I will add to my bucket today, and here's to stomping out the Voice inside my head.

And here's to the letter I vow to write tonight and turn into the Principal's box tomorrow.

And then here's to not taking whatever happens in the next 6 months personally.

Yeah.

Cheers to that! :)

I Do All My Own Voices...

For some reason, I was on an accent kick today. I mean it. I was spoutin awf my Bwoston Acksent like no other.

Kids ate it up. Made fun of me. Started mocking me.

We were all smiles as we started into our lessons. Which - remember - was my goal. So WOOT!

But I've realized these students ache for someone to relate to them - to understand them. Now I'm not saying I can even begin to understand where they all come from, but as we read our article today to prepare for our first attempt at an argumentative essay (about posting photos online and the dangers of revealing too much to future employers, colleges, friends, etc.), I made a particular effort to contextualize some things for them.

We talked about how ANYONE can find information about you on the internet. Just that morning, a man requested me to be a friend on facebook that had a crush on me in 8th grade. I mean it! He wrote me a love poem and everything, followed me around school with his rolly backpack, and asked the teacher what my grade was on my English paper (because, let's face it, he was a little jealous of my awesomeness). I shared this with my students and they had a fit! I stressed the amount of time it's been since 8th grade (though I may have exaggerated to feel older. I said 10 years. It was really 9. Let's just say I rounded up), I talked to them about how I've moved three times since I was at that school, and I've even gotten married since then so my NAME is different, and he was still able to find me! They laughed and it started a great discussion.

We talked about how YOU aren't always in control of what gets posted OF you or WHERE information about you goes. I asked them if they'd ever had someone take a funny photo of THEM and post it onto facebook. Hands shot in the air immediately, and one girl even said it happened just yesterday. She shared the experience and five other people in the room said, "Oh yeah! I saw that on facebook." This girl turned around and said, "Wait," pointing to one student, "I'm not even facebook friends with you. How did you see it?" Can I say point made? Oh yeah.

We talked about how everything you post online creates your ONLINE IDENTITY. We talked about the 15 year-old girl who bashed her parents in a letter on facebook. Some students recognized the story - others didn't - and her dad responded by creating a youtube video where he shot her laptop. Then it went viral (only did this with my 8th graders, though). I asked them some thought provoking questions like, "How is that going to affect her future?" Some students were cute and said, "She'll get grounded," but others saw a much more far-reaching consequence.

Each of my students, 7th and 8th grade alike, were eating it up. I love this argumentative unit! It gives me a chance to "burn" my students by coming up with counterarguments in order to teach my students about the power of paying attention to opposing viewpoints. Oh yeah.

It's always fun when one of your rambunctious 8th graders (who never really thought you had any credence whatsoever) says to the recipient of your counterargument, "Dude - Mrs. Brown just gave you the SMACK-DOWN!" (Though - the sensitive side of me always makes sure that student knows it wasn't personal before they leave. I'm a little less argumentative/devil's advocate with my 7th graders, nonetheless, but my 8th graders love it. PROGRESS! Yeah!)

It really was a fun day - and though I still have 30+ "I's" in my gradebook, I can't help but leave smiling at the progress we made today and the fire I saw in my students' eyes. You really CAN tell if you've got an engaged class or not... It's not too hard to tell.

I'll end with an ethical question though - If you KNOW a student is intelligent, capable, on-grade-level and all that jazz from one or two small assessments, but they haven't turned in enough of the work to pass your class, did they really pass? Because you know they can do it? Or do you fail them because, despite their intelligence, they weren't smart enough to realize that you HAVE to do the work? My grades are purposeful - each assignment has a specific objective - so I know it's not my grades that are faulty...

(Second ethical question): And do you - if a student is 3 or 4 or even 5 percent away from that oh-so-attractive C-, just manually override the grade to give it to them? I've given opportunities for mercy (catch-up days), I've given opportunities for extra credit, I've done everything besides doing the work for them. Do I bump those students? Do I let the pressure of parents and administration affect the scores I give? Everything in me is saying - don't you dare. You're doing the student a disservice if you say that  they passed when they didn't. At least that's what I believed in school!

Oh well.

At the end of the day, though it doesn't feel like it, it's not the final grade that matters.

Here's to a day of smiles and engaged students!

Cheers!

All Those in Favor?

... SAY "I HATE I's!"

I's are incomplete grades - it's pretty much the D and F ranges that middle schools want to avoid. It's all about the "You can't fail middle school" mentality.

And I'm glad, but gosh I hate them when it comes to the end of term. You always do that battle with yourself where you say, "Was this "I" because of me? Was there something I didn't do?"

So you start busting that fanny - Here's a mercy/catch up day for you to gain back extra points! Here's this extra credit assignment (even though I said I really don't do extra credit assignments at the beginning of the year)! Here's this opportunity to conference with me individually as an alternative assignment to the one you missed!

And still. I. I. I.

Oh well.

One last assignment to grade, and then there's no more I can do.

I'm working on that whole - Don't lose sleep over something you can't control thing.

I just think it's funny that teachers receive direction from others to "do everything you can to get those I's up" even though an I is a signal. It's a sign. It means something specific. And most of my students' I's do not mean "I'm stupid." It usually means, "I don't care," or "I didn't try."

But still - I can't help doing all I can to motivate these students to pass....

And I'm calling more parents.

Yay.

:D

Catch-Up or Ketchup?

The Monday before end of term. Yikes.

Hello Catch-Up Day. (Most of my students made fun of me on Friday when I announced Monday was Catch-Up day, teasing, "What are you going to do? Spray us all with Ketchup?" Cute kids.)

Note to self: this really works as a day where I can focus on Tier 2 instruction. I posted on the board 3 different options for students to choose from for today: they could read their novel (since Novel #3 is due tomorrow), they could work on missing assignments (I had printed out Progress Reports), or they could work on an extra credit assignment I gave them on Friday. I read the options, paused, and told them to each think of which choice would be BEST for them, envision that choice, and get started.

Many of them got lots of work done, and it allowed me to work with some of the students who still hadn't passed our common assessment on Evidence and Inferences. I had strategically created an extra credit assignment that could also be used as an alternative form of assessment for that test, so I pulled those students aside who had failed it previously, told them that if they finished it I would still give them extra credit, but I would also use it for their test grade. We talked about it for a minute or two, modeled some examples and sent them on their way. Over 70% of the students who didn't pass it before, passed it with this assignment (and they were excited about it because they got extra credit for it, too). I've noticed that if I remediate with the same assignment or the same skill for too long, many of the students who need that extra assistance get bored and don't put in the effort. But this extra credit motivation was great.

It also allowed me to talk to the students who have I's in my class. With my 7th graders, I conferenced with them each individually to talk about which assignments would be the BEST to work on today and for homework. With my 8th graders, I had them do more of the talking and had them commit to have specific assignments for me during intervention time tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. I didn't get to call all of the parents of my students who have I's over the weekend, so that's on my list today as well.

It is amazing what wearing a smile all day can do. Or cracking a joke at the beginning of class. I'm serious. I know I'm accountable for using class time for quality instruction, and I am, but it's amazing how much more gets done when I'm able to start the class off with a laugh and get them working with smiles on their faces...

It's a new daily goal for me.

Gosh - I love my job.

In the back of my mind, I've been thinking about that letter - that letter I told myself I'd write to the principal, letting him know about my interest in teaching here next year... I've really chickened out about it... I think I need to man up soon. :D

Short and Sweet...

Today - I'm grateful for my students. I'm grateful that the prove me wrong every time I think I've got them nailed down.

I have some incredible students.

Nuff said.

Today was gradual release of responsibility - STAGE 2. We. We. We. We. We. The more we "WE," the more confident I get to let them move on to "YOU."

Funny thing though - I'm realizing the motivation for my thumbs up, thumbs down assessment has been discovered. I asked my students yesterday if they understood the three step process we were going over for crafting an argument (state a claim, give verifiable evidence, connect the two with a warrant). It was thumbs up all around. Today, however, I asked them if they were ready to try it on their own, and the whole room resounded with NO's. Those sneaky little kids are playing me.

I think I've been discovered.

Too bad I've discovered their tactics more quickly.

We're off to find new tactics of quick visual assessment.  

And the weekend holds the following:

- Grading Final Genre Projects
- Creating Reading Packets for our upcoming novels (which is a HUGE task, but will save my little teacher's butt over the next month), and testing them out in different apps to see which app is most beneficial to the packet!
- Buy ziploc bags for the class sets of my novels (since the books are TA-RASHED!)
- Collaborate with other teachers for past material on teaching these novels (mostly to make sure I'm on the right track!)
- Complete student Citizenship grades
- Make copies of the Book Report Reflection students will be doing on Tuesday.
- Call the homes of my students who are currently failing, so that they get some parent encouragement to really USE the catch up day I'm giving them on Monday!

WHEW.

I won't pretend that I don't already know that only half of those items will most likely get done.

Oh well. That's life.

And don't I love it!

Solving the Mystery...

Sometimes I wonder if breaks were created to actually make life harder - don't get me wrong, I had a great break. An AMAZING break. I read 5 books that have been on my "to-read" list for the last year. It was great... But it only made the return that much harder.

So I prepped. And prepped. Spent budget money on teaching books that I felt would help me better access and engage my eighth graders. I read both novels again that we would start reading in the next week and a half and created a reading schedule. I even got to school 45 minutes earlier than I usually do because I wanted to make sure I was ready for whatever the day was going to throw at me.

But I walked into my room and couldn't access the internet. Not at all.

I'd created an entire powerpoint for today's lesson, but I couldn't project to my television.

I roamed the school in search of our technology supervisor who has having his own melt-down because the iPads (which had been turned in over break to do some syncing of apps), were scattered all over the lab with no rhyme or reason and were completely dead. No one had charged them. So he was definitely too busy to come to the aid of my dear-old lesson plans.

I went back to my room and wanted to cry. All of my anxiety about returning to school boiled up inside of me into a heap of emotions.

In the middle of a VERY toned-down freak-out, a sweet teacher came up to me, looked me straight in the eye and spoke to every hidden insecurity. "You need to calm down, Cali." (Mind you I really wasn't freaking out at all outwardly, but she could tell there was much more going on within.) "Do me a favor: today, don't let anyone come to you for help. You need to worry about yourself right now and focus on YOUR classes."

It was almost like magic. I gave up trying to manically plug in the iPads and said to myself, the rest of the students are going to have dead iPads, so I'm just going to alter my plans so we don't use them. I gave up trying to make my powerpoint work and printed off one of the slides with the focal point of my lesson on it so that students would have a hard copy to look at themselves (which actually turned out better than any powerpoint). I gave up trying to come up with a completely new lesson in 15 minutes, and went with my gut.

And it worked SO well. I had students raising hands that I hadn't heard from (willingly, that is) at all this year. I had my 4th period class, with a few exceptions, genuinely interested in the task - I'm serious! I only had a few sarcastic comments throughout the entire lesson! WOOT!

And - perhaps the best part of all - I felt so confident, so composed, so ready for whatever would happen today. There were no lectures about behavior, there were no secret meetings in my office where I pulled out my hair and asked myself Where did I screw up?, there was none of it. I felt like the day went seamlessly.

And, boy, am I grateful for UCTE. I pulled some ideas from some of the classes I attended and from some books I had read - and they were great. One teacher presented about how to teach argumentative writing by using pictures from Laurence Treat's Crime and Puzzlement books, and my students were so entranced. I'd like to thank Psych, CSI, NCIS, Castle, Law and Order, etc, for inspiring my students to be little detectives of their own - so many of them walked out of my classroom with grins on their faces and questions of, "Wait - who REALLY did it?" echoing through my classroom door.

End of term - 7 days away, and I feel like I'm starting to solve my own mystery: the mystery of how to be a better teacher. I can't take every moment so seriously. Each minute, each missing assignment is not a life or death scenario. Can't be. Today - today showed me what matters more. My students reflect the attitude I project each day. And, boy, did they rock today!