Longest commute yet. there was an accident on 95 today, so I took Route 1 all the way up to Exit 15 on 95. The idea was to bypass all of the traffic, but Route 1 was jammed as well - I guess I wasn't the only one who had that idea. I also almost got into an accident. A car pulled out in front of me (the person didn't look to see if anyone was coming) and I didn't have time to stop. I laid on the horn and swerved just in time to barely miss the car. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I was about a foot away from hitting the car. It was a miracle that no one was in the lane next to me when I swerved! My heart raced for the rest of the ride. Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.
I facilitated Morning Meeting today, but it was sadly cut short because we had some things to go over with the class. We were able to do the greeting (thumb high-5), and an activity, organizing ourselves by birthdays, silently. The activity was a bit of a bust, but I think we could do it again with more strategy and more time. Ms. Wink was supposed to talk about the controversy over the celebration of Columbus Day, but she got called to a meeting. I thought about saying something, but after the activity was finished, it was time to go to chorus. I hope that we talk about it on Tuesday. It's good to be honest with children about the history of our country - some of it is exciting, and other parts are not so great. Both contributed to making our country what it is today.
I spent most of the day correcting Social Studies assessments - filling out a blank copy of a world map and titling all seven continents, all five oceans, the equator, prime meridian, and the northern and southern hemispheres. Most students did really well - a few were tripped up with Europe - I think because it is such a small area to write the name in. But, alas, Europe is not located in Russia. Others thought that the Arctic Ocean was located by Antarctica (it's the Southern Ocean), when it is really located in the north pole. One student really concerned me. She didn't even know where North America was - I think she only got the equator correct, and I think that was because that was already labeled on the map. She is in the intergrated program, and I hope that she is getting the support that she needs.
Math was completely frustrating. I was sent to the library with half of the class to have them start working on their math blogs. I a) have never used seen or used this math blog before and had no idea how to use it; b) don't know how to fix technology when it isn't working properly, and c) cannot keep 12 student silent (a requirement when in the library) when they're totally excited to make math blogs. They also only had about 15 minutes to get down there, start the blog, and return to class before the other half was sent down. This was because chorus got out late today.
We had grammar today and we learned about pronouns. Thank goodness, because I never really got this concept. Turns out I did get the concept, but I just never knew the name for it. She, he, it, they, them, that, we, us, are all examples of pronouns. They are the words that take the place of nouns.
I facilitated the Spelling Test today after PE. Giving tests after PE is just a bad idea. The students are hot, sweaty, smelly, and thirsty. They're wired up as well. I wrote out the instructions on the board while they were in PE, so that we were ready to go. I passed out spelling booklets and had the students grab their spelling word list (they get to choose 10 words from a bank of 30) and their response logs, which they were to work on after they finished their test. It was such a mess. Half of the students forgot their words at home and had to sort through piles and piles of Ms. Wink's paperwork to get their words from a homework assignment.
I expressed my frustration with Ms. Wink about how I could'nt get the experience to run smoothly, and she said that it was common at the beginning of the year for the process to take a long time. Apparently students always forget their lists at home. This seems like there should be a better way of having a list for the students. I'm going to think about this and suggest that we implement something in future weeks.
I helped another student find a book - this time, it was Lois Lowry's classic "Number the Stars." She was looking for a piece of "realistic fiction" and I told her that I had just the right book for her. One of my favorite books!
The principal, Mrs. Lamberti, came to talk to the fifth graders today about their behavior in the lunch room. The teachers were expecting more of a talking to, but the principal gave more of an "I understand it's hard to sit still in the lunch room" talk. She also showed up late and talked for so long that the students were 10 minutes late to lunch - which meant that our lunch was cut short by 10 minutes. The teachers were frustrated with the whole process and asked for a meeting with the principal after school. This was the first time that I saw the teachers frustrated with the principal - I think they generally feel supported by her and this was an unusual misstep.
I was in charge of passing out homework today - I was left with very little time, and the students didn't want to pay attention. I did my best, but it was a challenge. They left school late, but I did get everything done - and the Asperger's student gave a great presentation on the update of challenge tickets. He was so funny and he even cracked a few jokes. The students love this process and look forward to his updates.
Because the students had to leave, they didn't have time to clean up the classroom and stack the chairs. Ms. Wink said that she would do it, but she had a meeting right at 3:00 pm. I ended up gathering the students and brining them outside for their pick up (usually Ms. Wink and I do it together). I went back to the classroom and stacked the chairs, picked up the floor, and wiped down the tables. Ms. Elias came into the classroom and said, I want you to look a the hallway." Oh no! Did I have to pick up their cubbies as well? I walked outside and looked down the hallway - my class was pristine. He class was a pig sty - papers and bottles and sweaters strewn all over the hallway, leaving Ms. Elias to clean it up. She looked at me and said, "I think I need to have a talk with my students about this hallway behavior." I smiled and looked back at her and said, "Our class talked about proper cubbie etiquette and cleanliness two weeks ago in Morning Meeting - looks like they're following their own rules!" SUCCESS!
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