First two weeks are over, plenty of weeks to go. I lugged home some huge boxes of material this weekend so I can get started. There are some fun party events going on this weekend but I'm not sure where people are getting time to attend them... I work better when I work in small bits, so I'm taking the weekend to decompress mostly by myself, sleep, watch TV... that whole bit. And, of course, blog.
So I have a few kids who are a little bit troublesome. But I half blame myself for the difficulties I am having in controlling them. I haven't been able to do individual conferencing yet, or start helping my kids on an individual level, because I have to keep the whole class under control. Nobody knows what to do and they're awful at following directions on worksheets. Meanwhile I have to teach out of the textbook because I don't have anything else. I'm sure this is a fate that befalls many first-year teachers but I want to make things more exciting!
Even worse is the way things are working out for my lower-English students (especially the one who speaks zero English). She doesn't know what's going on during our discussions and it is a problem for her (and it would be for me, too!). I need to get her going on the Spanish reading program, which I just received at the end of last week. Hopefully I will be able to work out a plan where she can read by herself. I believe she is the only one in the class who will take the TAKS in Spanish. I have another kid or two whose English is very, very low, and for them I think I need to have them working with sight word flash cards to start off as well as getting lower-level readers so that they can better comprehend the stories they are reading.
All of them need a lot of extra practice. I am definitely not sure to begin where to talk about writing strategies. I am not sure what they can write. In our free writes, some of them can write a lot, some of them can't; it's a matter of vocabulary, I think. As much as my program director at TFA told me not to explicitly teach vocabulary, I'm going to start teaching spelling patterns and vocabulary explicitly next week because they need to recognize (1) sight words if they don't already and (2) patterns!!!!
So the schedule is going to get busier. This week we have a Wednesday open house instead of class in the afternoon. Thursday I have a training, and I won't be in class, which is really bad... I need to cover a lot of material on Wednesday (but they get out early) so I'll have to figure out how that is going to work....
More later, perhaps I can update on some of the ups and downs of the last couple weeks, but for now I'm captivated by the planning... :)
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Thursday, August 17, 2006
It's official
I am a teacher.
I am a first-year teacher.
As such, I don't really have time to be on here blogging... I should either be sleeping or planning, by all rights. There is so much to talk about, though, after just four days. It's been amazing.
The kids are savvy. They undoubtedly can outpace me. What I feel unsure about is my ability to provide engaging lesson plans. I feel like they need a really hands-on experience that I am not very good at providing. Even so, they have been very well behaved. They all really, really want to speak English. I tried doing a lesson in Spanish the other day and they all wanted to switch to English. My Spanish certainly isn't perfect, but I think it was more their desire to get better at learning English.
They are motivated. I believe the community has a passion for learning. You can see it in the kids--their parents or family know they need to learn and have infused the children with that passion. It's the only way out of the neighborhood--and it is tough neighborhood. The kids probably know more than I do about many aspects of life, even at only 9 or 10 years. They reacted positively to our goal--what I have to do is keep enforcing it.
The kids have four aspects to the goal. They are going to fill out their passports, which I am using to track their progress in the objectives that are set out for them. They are going to get 100 AR points when the goal for them is 60 (one asked me today about it, he was reading the chart on the wall with that goal and said "but we are going to get 100?". And I said "yep, you can show them. Get 100!..."). Okay, they are all going to pass the TAKS, reading, math, writing. Writing especially will be a feat. More on that later. Their last goal is writing too--being "three point writers" on the four-point TAKS rubric.
This is crazy. I almost felt guilty after giving them this goal becasue I am so unsure of my ability to get them there. But that is part of it--now I am trapped and committed to doing it for them. They are such great kids. Even the "worst" of them, behavior-wise, just talk too much, don't follow instructions. They're not hitting people, throwing things, anything like that--at least not in my classroom.
I have a very wide range of abilities. Writing ranges from the kids who write a whole page in their morning journals to those who write a few sentences to those who write two sentences. They all want to get better, I can feel it, but some don't know where to begin. What they need is just lots, lots, lots, and more vocabulary. That means more reading and listening exposure, but at the correct level. And therein lies the vast challenge. I gave reading diagnostics today. I have (according to Cloze) kids who can't read English [that was obvious before, of course] and, on the other end, kids who are at a high fourth-grade English reading level. Somewhat of the majority is probably second or third grade level. And, of course, I have to teach to the two kids who don't really speak English and who, I assume, are going to be testing in Spanish (while working at improving their English too, so they will be ready to move on). At least the ideas are the same, but it will be an uphill battle.
They also don't like to open up. I get along with them fine--they respect me, I respect them--but it is difficult for us to get beyond that. They don't like giving public compliments. They don't share things, yet, with me, though they might in the future. Yet at the same time they come together around each other. One kid cried today in class. Some of the girls were trying to help him out and they said things like "everyone cries...". Nobody laughed. Nobody made light of it... even my "bad" kids, who aren't that bad.
Okay, I'm tired and still have plans to finish. But there is more to be shared later!
I am a first-year teacher.
As such, I don't really have time to be on here blogging... I should either be sleeping or planning, by all rights. There is so much to talk about, though, after just four days. It's been amazing.
The kids are savvy. They undoubtedly can outpace me. What I feel unsure about is my ability to provide engaging lesson plans. I feel like they need a really hands-on experience that I am not very good at providing. Even so, they have been very well behaved. They all really, really want to speak English. I tried doing a lesson in Spanish the other day and they all wanted to switch to English. My Spanish certainly isn't perfect, but I think it was more their desire to get better at learning English.
They are motivated. I believe the community has a passion for learning. You can see it in the kids--their parents or family know they need to learn and have infused the children with that passion. It's the only way out of the neighborhood--and it is tough neighborhood. The kids probably know more than I do about many aspects of life, even at only 9 or 10 years. They reacted positively to our goal--what I have to do is keep enforcing it.
The kids have four aspects to the goal. They are going to fill out their passports, which I am using to track their progress in the objectives that are set out for them. They are going to get 100 AR points when the goal for them is 60 (one asked me today about it, he was reading the chart on the wall with that goal and said "but we are going to get 100?". And I said "yep, you can show them. Get 100!..."). Okay, they are all going to pass the TAKS, reading, math, writing. Writing especially will be a feat. More on that later. Their last goal is writing too--being "three point writers" on the four-point TAKS rubric.
This is crazy. I almost felt guilty after giving them this goal becasue I am so unsure of my ability to get them there. But that is part of it--now I am trapped and committed to doing it for them. They are such great kids. Even the "worst" of them, behavior-wise, just talk too much, don't follow instructions. They're not hitting people, throwing things, anything like that--at least not in my classroom.
I have a very wide range of abilities. Writing ranges from the kids who write a whole page in their morning journals to those who write a few sentences to those who write two sentences. They all want to get better, I can feel it, but some don't know where to begin. What they need is just lots, lots, lots, and more vocabulary. That means more reading and listening exposure, but at the correct level. And therein lies the vast challenge. I gave reading diagnostics today. I have (according to Cloze) kids who can't read English [that was obvious before, of course] and, on the other end, kids who are at a high fourth-grade English reading level. Somewhat of the majority is probably second or third grade level. And, of course, I have to teach to the two kids who don't really speak English and who, I assume, are going to be testing in Spanish (while working at improving their English too, so they will be ready to move on). At least the ideas are the same, but it will be an uphill battle.
They also don't like to open up. I get along with them fine--they respect me, I respect them--but it is difficult for us to get beyond that. They don't like giving public compliments. They don't share things, yet, with me, though they might in the future. Yet at the same time they come together around each other. One kid cried today in class. Some of the girls were trying to help him out and they said things like "everyone cries...". Nobody laughed. Nobody made light of it... even my "bad" kids, who aren't that bad.
Okay, I'm tired and still have plans to finish. But there is more to be shared later!
Friday, August 11, 2006
60 hours to go
Wow. A lot is happening these days. In 60 hours--less than that, more like 56--I will have my kids in the classroom and will be attempting to show them that I'm not a pushover. Not smiling the first day is what everyone at my school recommends--I plan to follow such advice. I'm told they're pretty good kids, might have some English problems, but good kids.
So I haven't blogged on here since I started at my school. Guess I should probably talk about how that's going. I know that I promised to talk about orientation but that seems less relevant the more time goes by. Point being that most of the time wasn't necessary. We had district training the week after that, which made me wish for TFA again. The first day of district training was at a hotel where there wasn't nearly enough parking--I parked in a section of the lot full of broken boards, gravel and (apparently) rusty nails. Luckily my tires survived it. The rest of the week wasn't all that much better organized, and whatever was organized, we already mostly knew.
Started school last Thursday (the 3rd). I like my principal, he's new (and increasingly tired as school draws nearer), and the staff is pretty cool, though gossip is big here. I try to steer clear of that as much as possible. I will definitely be the guy who is not in the teacher's lounge at all. We have some pretty good resources at our school and everyone is very cooperative if you need something, although I have not received all that much in terms of concrete, hands-on things. I have a serious need for storage bins for supplies (and supplies, too). Some schools took their new teachers to go on a shopping spree at stores... ours didn't, although I get the idea that if I am going to order things, I should order them now. So once our principal's secretary gets back from vacation next Wednesday, I'll submit an order.
The school is fairly well equipped. I have a TV that I can use to play DVDs off the computer (the kids have 5 computers in my room and I have a new computer too--attendance and grading will be all computerized). That means I can do Powerpoint, to my delight, although I have to be careful since the TV isn't as big as a projector would be. However, as for materials, as I said I am short. I think the teacher who preceded me took a lot of stuff... I barely have any books or manipulatives.
The worst part of the whole thing is that my room has mold, which we found when we headed into it. The teacher next door was the first to notice it. The plan was to bump me to another building (where the 3rd graders are) but then they decided that they'd get it fixed in time and I could stay in my room with the 4/5 classes. Okay, but it's still not done... the boards are clean, but the furniture needs to be cleaned badly. So I haven't done anything in the room... I have stacks of things scattered around the other room, and I've been trying to prep posters and other things to put up. I've bought a world map, and a globe tonight, and I'm trying to get all the stuff I need together (though I'm pretty disorganized at this point to be honest).
The staff, as I said, is very nice and people offer to help frequently. My mentor has given me a lot of supplies that he didn't need (the best was the CD set of National Geographic magazine from 1880 to 2000!). Hopefully I will be able to count on some help to set up. The computer system (run by the district) has been annoying, though, and I didn't get a class list until today (well, I still don't really have the list, just the kids' ID cards). I'll have 20 kids, a couple of whom were retained, I believe, but most of whom were in the same class last year (I'm the only teacher with my specific position, and so is the teacher below me in the vertical alignment).
The thing I need the most is books. If you have some of your old childhood books or know people who do, please contact me--you know how if you're reading this blog--and talk to me about getting them down here. I'll take care of the costs.
I probably won't be on here again for a few days at least, so wish me luck with the kids on Monday... I need to finalize my lesson plans for them for Monday and Tuesday so that I can "interalize," as they say. And it's late out here, and I need sleep someday... so hasta entonces...
So I haven't blogged on here since I started at my school. Guess I should probably talk about how that's going. I know that I promised to talk about orientation but that seems less relevant the more time goes by. Point being that most of the time wasn't necessary. We had district training the week after that, which made me wish for TFA again. The first day of district training was at a hotel where there wasn't nearly enough parking--I parked in a section of the lot full of broken boards, gravel and (apparently) rusty nails. Luckily my tires survived it. The rest of the week wasn't all that much better organized, and whatever was organized, we already mostly knew.
Started school last Thursday (the 3rd). I like my principal, he's new (and increasingly tired as school draws nearer), and the staff is pretty cool, though gossip is big here. I try to steer clear of that as much as possible. I will definitely be the guy who is not in the teacher's lounge at all. We have some pretty good resources at our school and everyone is very cooperative if you need something, although I have not received all that much in terms of concrete, hands-on things. I have a serious need for storage bins for supplies (and supplies, too). Some schools took their new teachers to go on a shopping spree at stores... ours didn't, although I get the idea that if I am going to order things, I should order them now. So once our principal's secretary gets back from vacation next Wednesday, I'll submit an order.
The school is fairly well equipped. I have a TV that I can use to play DVDs off the computer (the kids have 5 computers in my room and I have a new computer too--attendance and grading will be all computerized). That means I can do Powerpoint, to my delight, although I have to be careful since the TV isn't as big as a projector would be. However, as for materials, as I said I am short. I think the teacher who preceded me took a lot of stuff... I barely have any books or manipulatives.
The worst part of the whole thing is that my room has mold, which we found when we headed into it. The teacher next door was the first to notice it. The plan was to bump me to another building (where the 3rd graders are) but then they decided that they'd get it fixed in time and I could stay in my room with the 4/5 classes. Okay, but it's still not done... the boards are clean, but the furniture needs to be cleaned badly. So I haven't done anything in the room... I have stacks of things scattered around the other room, and I've been trying to prep posters and other things to put up. I've bought a world map, and a globe tonight, and I'm trying to get all the stuff I need together (though I'm pretty disorganized at this point to be honest).
The staff, as I said, is very nice and people offer to help frequently. My mentor has given me a lot of supplies that he didn't need (the best was the CD set of National Geographic magazine from 1880 to 2000!). Hopefully I will be able to count on some help to set up. The computer system (run by the district) has been annoying, though, and I didn't get a class list until today (well, I still don't really have the list, just the kids' ID cards). I'll have 20 kids, a couple of whom were retained, I believe, but most of whom were in the same class last year (I'm the only teacher with my specific position, and so is the teacher below me in the vertical alignment).
The thing I need the most is books. If you have some of your old childhood books or know people who do, please contact me--you know how if you're reading this blog--and talk to me about getting them down here. I'll take care of the costs.
I probably won't be on here again for a few days at least, so wish me luck with the kids on Monday... I need to finalize my lesson plans for them for Monday and Tuesday so that I can "interalize," as they say. And it's late out here, and I need sleep someday... so hasta entonces...
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