OK. I admit it...I'm pathetic! I'm 2 months into the school year and I haven't written anything. I will do my best to post more frequently in the future! You'll notice I also changed the title of my blog... Since it's no longer "the second year" I figured I should change it. I'm not exactly happy with the current title, but it will do for now :)
I guess I'll rewind and start at the beginning.
The start of the school year was bittersweet. I was excited to teach the first cohort of 9th graders at a high-performing school... we're ranked #11 middle school in NYC according to this year's progress report. I was thrilled to teach at a school where most of the staff is as dedicated and motivated as I am. A professional environment. An administration that makes itself visible and present to students. Clear and high expectations for teachers as well as students.
On the other hand, I was sad to leave my old school, colleagues, and students. I had taught about 50 of my students for 2 years. I knew I'd miss seeing them grow up and graduate. I truly loved them.. by the end of 10th grade, they had really matured both intellectually and socially.
Sometime in October I visited them... it's amazing how much older they looked from the last time I saw them in June!
Where do I even begin?
I'm teaching 9th graders. We just started reading Harper Lee's timeless classic, To Kill a Mockingbird... even though the vocabulary is challenging, they love it so far (we're only on chapter 3, so maybe I should hold my tongue).
We've basically just been focusing a lot on characterization and note-taking. We just introduced independent reading at home, so they've had a lot of work to do. It's exciting to hear kids talk about the books their reading, and how they can't wait to finish so they can start a new book!
My co-teacher and I had them do a "One-Pager" after we were first introduced to Boo Radley. I learned about the One-Pager at the AVID conference I went to in June. It's basically a way for kids to express their understanding of a chunk of text both in words and visually. They had to pick a few excerpts that stood out to them, write a personal response to the text, and draw their visualization of the scene. I figured it'd be best to show them exactly what I was looking for in their One-Pagers, so I did one myself. I had a LOT of fun making it!! :) I love the scene where Boo is first described... blood-stained hands from killing squirrels and cats, yellow rotten teeth, 6'6'', a jagged scar on his face... he is so mysterious yet so misunderstood!
I'll take some pictures of the best One-Pagers students turned in and post them! I'll also post some pictures of my classroom.
It's hard to believe it is already mid-November. Where has time gone?
No comments:
Post a Comment