Holiday Cheer!

Tomorrow we are having an all-school movie/all-staff breakfast potluck.

Kdg-First: Despicable Me
Third-Fourth: Shrek IV
Second- Split between the two

I'm excited for the opportunity to socialize with the other staff members.  This semester has been so busy that I hardly have had a chance to commisterate/collaborate with other teachers.  I find it helpful to see what other people are doing in their classrooms, and sometimes I am able to incorporate their ideas into my lessons.

"The Family Under The Bridge"

Every year the fourth grade classes are forced to read "The Family Under The Bridge," an antiquated tale of a hobo living in Paris who has a chance meeting with three homeless children.  Much to the original dismay of their mother, he ends up becoming an integral part of the family structure and everyone lives happily ever after.  The End.

I understand the importance of the message; don't judge a book by its cover.  The problem as I see it is in the "odd" content within the text.  Their are a series of French words throughout the novel that the students in ESL find especially difficult to pronounce, not unlike there non-ESL peers, and in addition - the novel contains many outdated phrases and long syllabic words.  My students are finding it particularly disheartening to read this book, and it makes me generally sad.  Sometimes the looks on there faces after I've corrected there reading a dozen or so times breaks my heart. 

The questions that go along with the story are not too difficult, but the students still need some prodding at times to find the answer in long drawn out monologues/explanations made by the characters. 

I believe that a main reason for their lack of fluency in reading this story stems from the lack of comparable texts read in class.  This story is like an apple to the banana of other selections.

Good Advice

"I wish Lego people were alive" - First Grade boy

Cold

Right now my classroom feels like i'm teaching outside in the snow.  Brrrrrrr!

Snarky

I'm forcasting a looong week ahead.  Contrary to popular opinion, missing a Monday actually throws off the week much more than missing a Friday.  I would prefer the latter.  As nice as it was to sleep in and walk around the house wearing extra comfy socks for an extra weekend day, the consequences or ummm set backs makes it kind of a bummer.  The week is definitely thrown off now, and with a four day week coming up next week - teachers are scrambling to make up the missed work. 

In addition to the obvious annoyances, I got pulled to sub for a 4th grade class for 20 min - sans lesson plans.  Controlling a group of 29 kids is not my cup of tea, as I am extremely effective with smaller groups, I have not quite grasped the patience to deal with them in masses.  To be honest, hose 20 minutes were quite terrifying. 

Snow Day

Monday, December 13, 2010 we were charmed with a snow day!

Quiet Morning

Today was a pretty average Friday morning; quiet. 
I learned how to turn a wordsearch into a way to practice letter identification, beginning and ending sounds, and colors all in one.  The kindergarten student seemed to enjoy the activity.  She didn't seem to notice the list of words at the bottom..

The snow has the kids pretty excited for recess.

Once Upon a Lesson..

The first graders have finished their 12 sight word lessons and now there is some room for creativity.  We've divided the group in two; one with 5 and one with 3, with me at the helm of the larger group.  We are making books!  Using a blank hardcover book (available at any craft store) they are day by day adding a little bit about the "first grade experience" to it.  When they finish the year they will have a comprehensive personalized book of what they did and liked this year.  Not only does it allow them to be creative as illustrators, but they will eventually have more freedom to pick the topics they are going to write about.  This is a funjecational activity for everyone.

What's Your Name?

The cold weather has all the kids a little stir crazy.  Recess has been inside all week because of the windchill factor and the students are showing signs of restlessness.  Attitudes are at an all time high and teachers are generally irritated.  The signs of an impending vacation are also there - the students and teachers are grossly aware of the upcoming festivites - all school movie morning, holiday parties, etc.  If you can imagine, it's even worse in an ESL classroom.  With school going until the day before Christmas Eve and many of our students going to Mexico for the holidays, the last week will prove to be extrememly unproductive with a missing mass of kids.  Some of the kids are already convinced that we are on break.

It's hard to keep them focused when they are so excited about the holidays and vacation.       

Friday is Fun Day

Today I am the teacher :)
My supervising teacher is out and we have no sub.  It's not really much different from a normal day; I just had to cancel a couple morning groups. 

One of the kindergarteners figured out that we always do something fun on Friday (i.e.  abc BINGO, Leap Frog "Letter Factory" dvd, Starfall on the computer).  I kind of thought that would take the fun out of it to know it's coming and not be surprised - but he seemed happier than on regular days knowing he had something to look forward to :)

Peacock

It always amazes me the bonus words that a first grade class can come up with.  Every week one of our first grade groups has 2 challenge spelling words, this week: December (makes perfect sense) and peacock (?).
I wonder if the students get to pick? Or, maybe there is a grab bag type of system where the teacher pulls out a random word every week.  I think it's fascinating.

Stand and Deliver

With snow falling outside, students are more than distracted.
This morning I had to stand behind a student using the Academy of Reading software and repeat the phrase "which on is it?" - for 15 minutes.  It's unfortunate the lack of concentration that the average student has, but if that's what it takes for him to be successful I will do it everyday.
Is it spring yet?