Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
About Me
- Dr. Susan Ferguson
- I teach English Education, Foreign Language Education, and ESL Education, and I advise STEM Education Majors at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama--and I LOVE IT! I love to invite others to find the poet that is within them--I am certain a poet lies within each of us!
Hi Class,
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone had a great week. In my class this week, the students finished up their pronoun unit and took the test on Friday. There were a few A's and a few B's, but mostly there were failing grades. The average was a 58. I know if the kids had studied and actually tried to understand the material, they could have done much better. I also know that I would have taught this unit much differently. Would the outcome have been the same? Maybe, but hopefully not. On a lighter note, we had a fire drill on Friday, and we also went to the library. The majority of the students used library time to walk around, talk, pretend to look for a book, look at magazines, and flirt with each other. A few actually checked out a book that they probably will not read. I'm thinking a library trip should require sort of agenda. What do you guys think? Should library time be structured, or should it be the student's choice on whether they check out a book or not? What should the students be required to do once they have the book? (This is 7th grade). I look forward to your thoughts.
Ladies,
ReplyDeleteClass was fine this week. I was caught off guard on Monday when my cooperating teacher asked me to teach the lesson. She handed me her book and told me we were going to review persuasive writing by reading an article from the textbook. While she taught first period, I read the article and tried to pull elements that I wanted to focus on. While I mainly mimicked her instruction, I was able to incorporate many of my ideas into the lesson on persuasive elements and biases. I believe that my instruction was adequate, considering it was rather impromptu. Danielle, through observing my teacher, she only sends students to the library that have a specific purpose for going: utilizing a computer to type an assignment, collecting research, etc. When students finish their work early and ask to go to the library, it has to be for a specific purpose. I agree, and I feel that my teacher has demonstrated that an agenda is necessary for library trips.
Hey guys!
ReplyDeleteMy class has been pretty good this past week, nothing too exciting. Both blocks have been watching a movie (Mayor of Casterbridge for AP and 13th Warrior for Honors). I teach a lesson on the 4th, so I hope I have all my ducks in a row for that. I am doing a lesson on ballads, and I hope that I can make it interesting for them. I did not think that I would be so anxious about getting everything just right, but since this is my first lesson, I am. Brad, I can't believe your teacher just told you to teach a lesson that day. I am sure that you did a great job, but I know a little warning would have been nice! Danielle, I have not been to the library with my class (high school is a lot different, I would guess), but I would think that if I was not accomplishing anything by going to the library, I would try something else. Maybe a book report/presentation on the book they selected? I don't know. I am glad that you all are having good experiences.
This was an interesting week for me. On Friday I spent all day, literally all day because I volunteered to stay and help, in the gymnasium for the school's culture fair. I had no idea what I was volunteering for. I was the only "teacher" in there for most of the day with about 40 kids who were either bored or hyper. My feet hurt so bad! I did learn a lot though. I learned about all of the extra things that teachers do and I got to see all of the classes in the school. It is amazing how much of a difference there is in sixth and eighth grades in more ways than one. Also, since I spent the entire day there I went to lunch with them and got to experience things I typically miss when I leave early. Let me say, when I was in school I was always jealous of the teachers because they got to skip everyone in the lunch line. Friday when I walked to the front of that line, I felt like I had accomplished something in life ;).
ReplyDeleteThis week the students were learning how to identify the main idea in a paragraph. When the teacher went over the examples in the textbook, the students seem to follow along. However, when she gave each group of students some newspaper articles to read and identify the main idea of the story, the students began summarizing instead. It seemed once they tried to apply what they had learned on their own, we discovered that they still didn't completely grasp the concept of the main idea, and the teacher therefore had to revisit the topic. I know now that on the day I teach the class, I will have to be very specific in my instructions, and I also need to pay close attention to student feedback so that I won't have to backtrack later.
ReplyDeletePaige
Middle school students are a different animal than any other. Being very structure even in the library is a good thing. I started teaching in a middle school, and it almost killed me. Be prepared to reteach many things over your career. Just wait until you understand what happens when students are absent, and then they expect you to rewind to the previous day just for them. I always try to type my notes and give them to students so I an avoid this problem. By the way teaching is exhausting, but very fun at the same time.
ReplyDeleteRachel I know how you feel about skipping to the front of the lunch line. I feel so privileged when I can walk up front and just ask for one of those hot rolls. I think it was really cool that you stayed and helped out. I think your teaching experience at Hankins (sp?) will be better for it.
ReplyDeletePaige
I had a pretty typical week at Baker. One of foreign students did disappoint me. However, I am over but I don't believe she is. She actually thinks bombing a test will somehow get me back for giving her retract. Rachel, I understand your feeling about the lunch line bit what really feels good to me as a teacher is when my students are all standing around me when I am on duty. I feel so loved and appreciated. I love my job!
ReplyDeleteOk, so i have a news update for you guys on the cheaters from German. The girl has still been insistent that she see her test and I still haven't let her. Other kids are coming to me saying that she is openly talking about the fact that she cheated and the guy is talking too (brilliant, I know). The girl also wanted to go to a different class during my class today and I wouldn't let her, so instead of reviewing with us for the make-up I'm giving tomorrow she sat in her desk and wrote notes today - I took them up and she confessed to cheating in one of them!!!! (again brilliant girl) I then wrote her up, gave her a zero on the test, and called her parents.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got the mom on the phone her response was, "yeah, I figured that's what you were calling about. I told my husband that was a bad idea when he ordered it for her".
Can you believe that? I mean, at least pretend like you're a good parent and act like you were clueless. My blood pressure stayed high after that the rest of the afternoon. The mom seemed fine that she's getting a zero and it will be going on her permanent record at the school. (the guy who cheated too)
The mom said they were looking for "supplemental activities" for her to study with. I said, well she hasn't been to tutoring once this year and she's not turning in her homework, so you might want her to get down the activities she's assigned before you start doing supplements. She agreed.
I'm just still furious about this. Both the boy and girl's parents said they would be at tutoring tomorrow. I'm also supposed to be talking with the dad tomorrow and I'm going to try to pressure him into giving over the testing materials. We'll see. Sorry this is so long, but I needed to vent to the blog.
This was the week I have began teaching. I was in charge of coming up with an Engagement activity. This is designed to get the kids thinking about whatever lesson we covered for the day. The lesson dealt with punctuating titles and quotes; therefore, I labeled a magazine, book, and two advertisements. They were in groups so they had to correctly punctuate these titles I placed on notecards. They seemed to like it, as well as I. I hope things continue for the best.
ReplyDeleteDanielle,
ReplyDeleteMy most successful library trips from 7th grade through 11th grade have been the ones with specific goals. I'm learning as I go but one that they really seem to like is working with a partner and researching terms for the literary period or a book we are going to study. The next day in class they were asked to present the information and about 90% of them were excited to tell about the things they learned. They taught me things I didn't know!