Today - was good. I'm realizing, with my 7th graders, that it's okay to have a reading day. It's okay for the daily objective to be that students finish Chapter 9. Do I always have analytical questions and discussions during the reading? Yes. Do I always ask comprehension questions along the way? Yes. But I HAVE to be okay with a Reading day - otherwise it would take us another 3 weeks to finish this book. Do I still feel somewhat guilty for having an entire day be just reading... yes. But my students have let me know that they find it difficult to do multiple tasks at once (filling out a comprehension worksheet while reading, taking notes while reading, etc.) and I'm tired of them devoting 50% of their attention to the novel and 50% to their notes. Neither task is ever fully and successfully accomplished. So, I'm adapting, and I'm swallowing my guilt. For now. We WILL finish this novel by the end of the week. We WILL!
My 8th graders? Today was our practice argumentative essay day. Yesterday we reviewed important terms for argumentative writing (as well as for essay writing) and we talked about organization, so today, I wanted a pre-assessment to see where my students are already at.
I had a prompt picked out, nothing miraculous, but I'd started the prep work. But then my husband begged me for help. He's in a class devoted to innovation and his group has proposed this new product or company. The purpose of the company is to create personal logos for their clients that help to describe who they are at a glance. It's almost like a "break the ice" kind of opportunity. You see the colors/shape of someone's logo and you can say to yourself, "Hey - they like sports. I like sports. We have something in common. I could go talk to this person..." They wanted feedback from different ages of students - middle school, high school, and college: places where it's important to make friends fast and have a way to break the ice.
So my dear hubby wrote my students a letter asking for their help. In the letter he explained the purpose of the company, the product, and gave them a prompt asking them if they would be willing to spend money to buy a key chain with their logo on it. Why or why not?
I was surprised by what some of my 8th graders were able to come up with. And they were almost EXCITED at the idea that this was a real product that someone was thinking about and they were providing REAL feedback that would be used! It was one of those moments when you realize how essential the PUBLISHING aspect of the writing process is and how important AUTHENTICITY is to writing assignments.
Either way - productive day.
Internal Reflection: I feel like when state tests loom in the distance, my to-do list just gets longer and longer and I'm getting less and less done. I know I'm not alone - I mean, one glance at nearly any member of our school's teaching staff and you know . . . We are pooped.
(not like yesterday's pooped, mind you. ;)
But as the DWA approaches, I'm becoming hyperaware of each one of the skills I need to teach and review with my students and there's simply not enough time. And I'm getting frustrated easily when my students - who KNOW the difference between their, there, and they're because we've reviewed it like 10+ times in my class - don't show me what they know in their work. Do they know they need a period there? Yes. At least they do when I ask, "What is this sentence missing?" Do they know which "their/there/they're" to use in their writing? Yes. At least they do when I test them on it. But I can't get it to transfer to their writing - granted today was a first draft at best and it was practice... But that DWA test scares the daylights out of me.
My current to-do list:
-grade 7th grade journal entries
-analyze 8th graders' practice essays to determine lesson emphases for the next 2 weeks
-submit sub requests
-revise resume
-submit applications on teachers-teachers and on Alpine School District
- complete lesson plans for this week
-finalize next week's lessons
-create sub plan for next week
-email practicum student about lesson for next week
-research state tests from states that post older state tests online. Start creating test prep material for March.
-finish uploading student names to utahwrites (since I have to create their account individually. Ouch.)
-update my class calendars and folders on edmodo
-collect/retrieve letters of recommendation
-create resume portfolio for job fairs
-pick up husband and drive him to the train station by 4:30
-clean apartment for the arrival of my dear family this weekend
-stay sane.
How am I going to accomplish all these things? No idea.
Is it hard to stay focused about my work here at Dixon when I keep thinking, "I may not even be here next year and I need to start researching for a new job next year..." Yes. And No. But it is really tough to start worrying about yourself when all you've been worrying about for the last few months is your students...
How do I do it all?
Pray.
And put my family to work this weekend. :) Good idea, no?
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