9/17/10
Today I got to host my first Morning Meeting! I led the greeting by asking if students wanted to high five or fist pump. Fist pumping received 100% of the vote! After we greeted each other, we talked about how the class can work together to earn more recess and/or not lose recess points. I was very impressed that students suggested listening to the teachers at all times, following rules and expectations, and lining up quickly and quietly. It was so nice to hear the students speak these ideas - it seems like all of the work we've put in with expectations and rule explanation is paying off! I think the next time I ask a brainstorming question, I'll have a mini wipe board with me so that I can display their thoughts for the rest of the day.
In Math, we continued the Data & Statistics unit by learning all about Rene Dec
artes - the mathematician who created the Cartesian Coordinate System. What would we do without Rene? How would we know how to plot points on a plane? Dr. Morse's intern read a fun Children's book about how Decartes came upon the idea of ordered pairs. After the book was read, students used a life-sized x, y-axis graph to figure out how to read ordered pairs. The graph was on the floor and each integer was about a foot apart from the next. A volunteer was given the ordered pair (1, 4) and had to walk from (0, 0)
to that point. The purpose of this exercise was for students to remember that the first integer represented x and the second integer represented y.
In SS, Ms. Conrad explained the difference between reading a fiction book and a text book. She had a student demonstrate how he would read a book from cover to cover. Then she explained that the text book was not like that; in class we will be hopping from one page to the next. She explained the table of contents and then had students find 10 more features of the book that helped students navigate the contents (index, maps, page numbers, references, etc.)
It was raining outside today, so recess was indoors. Ms. Wink distributed games to each of the tables and used the "Luck of the Draw" chips to determine who would be at which station. Students were able to choose the table they wanted to go to, but this helped to cut down on the arguing and the stampeding.
Science was tabled for the day so that our students could display their "Marvelous Me Museums." Students spent all week (at home) decorating shoeboxes and placing 5 important items into their box that would help others get to know them more. The students were so excited to share! It was a lot of fun! I got to run the show because Ms. Wink had a meeting about a student who needs to be placed on an IEP. After the museums were finished, I read from "The Night of The Twisters."
After school today, I went to BC and worked on my Lesson Plan for Wednesday, and also looked up articles on girls and math, and the Professional Learning Communities strategy. On my way to get dinner, I ran into one of my Kostka 1 Boys and he insisted that I go and visit the gang...which I call "The Vortex" because they suck me in and I don't leave for hours! I tried to convince them that they should go to the lecture that I was going to attend - Sister Helen Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking." They refused because it was at 7pm on a Friday night. Wimps. It was great to see them as always, and made me realize that I've been trying to compare my connection with them to my connections with the 5th graders. Not fair, and not even remotely in the same category. They're nearly 10 years older than my 5th graders, and I've known them much longer! Time to reframe.
Sr. Helen Prejean was great. She spoke about the importance of working with the poor, the sanctity of life - including those who have done unspeakable things, and listening to the times that God sets you on fire. I feel like I was set on fire the first day that I went to substitute in a 5th grade classroom. That feeling is why I started the MEd program, and is why I quit my job at BC - to become a teacher. Now, with no jobs in sight, and my understanding of the teaching profession shifting, I wonder if that fire is still within me. Sister went on to say that it is through encounters with others that the flint hits the rock and a spark flies - when there is a connection a flame is lit. So, onward I will continue - hoping for that spark to (re)ignite.
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