| Sweet Success! |
[Jan. 12th, 2006|11:34 am] |
So its my first week back to class. I didn't miss school at all while I was gone, but I was glad to be back when I got here. I realized I did miss my students.
So far the week has gone well. For the most part my classes have been really good. I think they are all exhausted from their break. So far my only problem has been with my Tuesday afternoon 4th graders. Normally they are such a good group but they were so chatty this week. I'll have to crack down on that next time, I just wasn't expecting it from them. But I guess I should know by now that as a teacher to expect the unexpected.
Today I had my class that I normally dread. They have just been awful and I had to threaten them with citations last time I saw them. I hate doing that. I really strive to use positive behavior management in my classrooms. However it's been hard to find a system that works for me in this class because of all the different grade levels. I know a big part of my problem is that I need a signal to get their attention when I need them to look at the board. Before the break I'd been saying "Hands in your lap, eyes on me". But I didn't like it and it was ineffective. So today I tried the Harry Wong technique (wow that sounds really dirty), but he's a famous educator, I swear. Basically he uses something called "Give me 5" and the kids have to stop what they are doing, look at you, and put their hand in the air. Well it worked like a charm with my trouble class. Of course it also helped that I was giving out goldfish crackers when I caught them doing something good. Food is a powerful motivator!
I am really excited that today went so well with this class. I was dreading it to the point of having a stomache ache. I didn't even have to put a single name on the board or write one citation. Now I just need to make a "Give me 5" poster so the kids have a visual reminder of what it means. |
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| Reminders |
[Nov. 3rd, 2005|11:08 am] |
Just some things I want to remember for next year.
First day, place emphasis on the fact that being in the computer lab is a priviledge and their behavior determines whether or not they get to keep that priviledge.
I need to re-work my rules. They are too lengthy. I used the ones the girl had last year but I don't like how long they are. Its too much for the little ones.
I also need to come up with some behavior plan that will work with kids I only see once a week. Stickers have been working with the little ones, I need to come up with something for the older kids. My curriculum is so jam packed that i can't even give them free time to play as a reward.
Funny things my students have said:
"You can buy a baby. They sell them at the hospital" -1st grade girl, who was shocked I didn't have kids.
"I LOVE firemen!" - 1st grade girl during a fire drill that was attended by local firemen.
"If I didn't have any friends I would talk to my teeth" - 3rd grade boy
"If your kids eat drugs, they will die" - on an Anti-Drug poster in the hallway. |
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| Follow her every move |
[Sep. 15th, 2005|08:39 pm] |
On Wednesday I observed another teacher who works for the same company I do. She teaches at an Armenian Christian school that is close to mine. This school is amazing. It is in a huge old house that was donated by a rich Armenian family on the conditions that it be used for a Christian school. It doesn't have a cafeteria but a real, regular kitchen. My co-worker's classroom was on the second floor and all the classrooms used to be rooms in the house. In face in some of them you can see where closets used to be. It was so cozy.
I really got a lot out of watching her. She had only the primary grades that day which was perfect because those were the grades I needed the most help with. I realized that first grade is just going to be a handful no matter what. They are so needy compared to the older kids. I just have to remember to take my time with them. She used a lot of analogies to help them understand things like folders and files. She also didn't spend as much time on her rules as I was and got the kids on the computer faster. I am not sure how I feel about that one. I feel its vital to set up your rules and standards. I learned a lot of great tips from watching her and I feel much more ready to teach my own classes. |
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| Righty tighty lefty loosey |
[Sep. 14th, 2005|07:18 pm] |
Well its definitely been a busy week. Monday was my last day before I started classes. I spent most of it getting things ready and fine tuning the lab schedule. I was pretty nervous about Tuesday. Its been a year since I've been in the classroom plus another teacher will always be with me which is both nerve wracking and reassuring.
Tuesday morning I get to work extra early to make sure I am at the door, ready to greet the kids when they arrive. I check my work email and my boss had emailed me Monday night asking me to postpone starting classes until the following monday and go and observe another teacher for this week. I was so aggravated. On one hand I really did want to observe another teacher because that is always helpful, on the other I felt really unprofessional for having to cancel classes, especially after the hassle I went through to even get them scheduled in the first place. I went and spoke to the principal and we decided it was too late to cancel Tuesday's classes.
My first class that morning was fifth grade. It went well they behaved and listened. The teacher did her bills which was not good. The teachers are supposed to be in there giving me a hand, keeping the kids in check and helping them. Its too much for one teacher to make sure 35 kids are doing the right thing on the computers. If she does something like that again next week I am going to have to report her.
I felt really good after that class. I just needed to jump in and get back into teaching.
Next up was second grade. These guys didn't have computer last year so some of them had never used a computer before. I struggled a lot with this class because A) the teacher wasn't helpful and they were very, very chatty, B) I didn't realize how little they knew about computers. I mean some of these kids didn't know how to use a mouse or even the difference between their left and right! There was also this one little boy who I swear was sizing me up as he walked in the door. He had this grin on his face that just screamed "I am going to make your life a living hell, lady". And he was a pain in the ass the whole time, constantly asking when we were going to play games. Because I hadn't counted on them being so slow, we ran over in time. This meant the first grade class that was next had to stand int he hall for a few minutes. The teacher was pretty understanding about it, its just hard to have such little ones wait in the hall quietly.
They did much better than the second graders. Their teacher was also much, much more helpful. They were so cute and really good at following directions. My last class was fourth grade and it went really, really well.
Today I did go observe. I will write up more about it later. Right now I am beat. But it was very, very helpful! |
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| First Day |
[Sep. 9th, 2005|09:35 am] |
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First day went well. I don't actually start teaching until next Tuesday so it was a very laid back day for me. I just worked on some administrative stuff and checked my email a whole lot. The best part though was when the kids came by. Many of the teachers of the younger grades took their classes on tours of the school, so of course they stopped by the computer lab. The Kindergarteners are so cute, you just wanna eat them up! They say funny things too like "My dad has a computer, but I am not allowed to touch it" and "We have two computers. One is fake, I play games on it!" |
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| D-Day tomorrow! |
[Sep. 7th, 2005|03:00 pm] |
So tomorrow is the first day of school. I've never gone to/worked at a school that started this late before. Its kind of nice. Although we do get out in the middle of June to make up for it. I am slowly getting organized. My classes don't start until Monday so I have all day tomorrow and Friday to finish up. I don't have much more to do, just need to make labels for the student portfolios, name tags, and seating charts. All of this had to be left until now because the teachers just got their class lists yesterday at the staff meeting. I can't imagine being handed my class list two days before school starts. That doesn't really give you time to personalize anything for the kids. Especially since one of those days is taken up with a meeting.
The meeting went well. Most of it didn't pertain to me since I am not employed by the district nor am I a regular classroom teacher. But it was nice to meet the other staff members. Everyone was so nice and warm and welcoming. Another thing that really struck me was how positive everyone was. At my old school so many of the teachers were downright negative and were glad to have a new teacher to complain to. It doesn't seem to be that way here at all. Everyone seems really supportive of one another. Their guidance counselor kicks all sorts of butt. He acts as more of a vice principal because he handles the discipline, but he's so positive and energetic and has a great plan in place for this year. I am excited to see where it goes. The school also really struggles with attendance so this year they are going to try a new program were kids get dog tags each month that they have perfect attendance. I think the kids will love it.
I am just slightly stressed about classes starting, but it is no where near the levels of stress I had my first year. I am so lucky to have a teaching job where my room was 80% already set up, the lesson plans are already written and I've gone through and done them so I am familiar with them, systems are already in place regarding classroom organization. It's been so much easier and more relaxing. My biggest stress right now is figuring out the class schedule. 2-5 grades get priority when it comes to the schedule. 1st grade only gets to come to computers every other week and Kindergarten can come if I have time left over. Its been tough because all of the Kindergarten teachers have approached me wanting to sign up. Then I had some teachers sign up and now I am finding out that fourth grade needs their time slots because of some other enrichment program they have in the mornings. I called my boss and she's going to help me with the schedule. At the other schools my company works with, the principal sets the schedule. I wish it were that way here because its been my #1 headache.
The other tough things is the district wide software program the teachers use for attendance and other things. The girl I am replacing was an expert on it and everyone is assuming I know as much as she does. I haven't even gone for training on it yet so they know more than me! I think the biggest challenges of this job will be everyone expecting me to be tech support and support for this software.
I am very excited to meet the kids. All in all I will have over five hundred students that I teach. That is completely overwhelming to me. I wonder how I will learn all their names. Thank goddess for name tags, right? |
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| Dream Come True |
[Aug. 4th, 2005|07:25 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  jubilant | ] |
This week I am in training for my new teaching job. It's with a company that schools hire to come in and set up computer labs and provide a technology curriculum and help the teachers integrate technology into their classrooms. They also offer a full time teacher if the school desires. Well I am one of those full time teachers.
Lemme just tell you I am so excited about this upcoming school year! This job seems amazing. I was worried that it sounded too good to be true, but after talking to teachers who have worked for the company for a couple of years my fears seem to be wrong. The job is fantastic because I get to do the part I love about teaching, which is teaching itself. The stuff I hated doing like grading papers, parent/teacher conferences, writing IEPs, all the administrative/political aspects of teaching don't apply to me because I am an employee of the company, not the school. I get to arrive when school starts and leave when it ends. Which means my workday is from 8:30-3pm. Plus I don't have to go in on teacher workdays unless I want to and I think I have half days on Mondays. No staying for meetings, or to work on things in my classroom. I don't have to write any lesson plans. The curriculum is already laid out for the entire year with detailed lesson plans for each grade level. I will be teaching second-fifth grade. I *may* teach Kindergarten and First grade as well. The school I am working at hasn't had computer class for those grades but they might this year. Also I don't have to stress too much about classroom management because the kids will be coming with their classroom teacher who will handle discipline while I teach the lesson! I just teach and maintain the computer lab. As I get more experienced, I can opt to write the integration lessons but we'll see how this year goes.
Plus the company is fantastic. They are three years old and have been doubling in size every year. The people who own it are so positive and supportive. So are all of my co-workers. I have never worked with a group of teachers that were 100% positive and enthusiastic before. And most of them have been teaching for a long time.
Tomorrow I get to finally meet my principal and see my lab. Rumor says its the nicest one in the district as well as the biggest one. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 1st, 2004|07:39 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
I wish I had been more diligent about updating this journal during the year. Although it is funny to look back on my first couple of weeks. I can already see how far I have come from what I wrote and how I handled things then to how I would handle them now. |
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| Thing for Next Year |
[Jun. 1st, 2004|07:35 pm] |
Just a few notes and things I want to remember for next year.
* Make sure you call every single parent within the first two weeks of school with a positive phone call.
* Spend a TON of time the first two weeks going over rules, procedures, and role play them
* Remember never, ever to assume the kids know something
* Plan out your units in advance. Make a rough map for the year regarding curriculum.
* Start class meetings at the beginning of the year
* Do a few get to know you activities
That's all for now. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 21st, 2003|10:46 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  aggravated | ] |
It's been forever and I don't feel like backtracking so I'll start from where I am.
On Tuesday before I left to come to Florida for my mom's surgery, a parent called wanting to discuss their child's progress report. I didnt' call them back because I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off getting things ready for a sub since I would be gone for 5 days.
Well apparently this parent came in this week and spoke to my friend who also teaches her son. She wants to talk to me about his behavior in my class and his grades. She's upset because I have not called him about his grades.
Well he's been failing my class since Day 1. He has the same grades on this progress report as he did on his last progress report and his last report card. Every week I send home a weekly work report saying how the child behaved that week and what assignments they are missing. I have also sent conference forms home to this mother and received them back unsigned. So she can't say I haven't contacted her at all. I will admit that I haven't called her, which I should have. But, I hate calling parents. It's one of my major flaws as a teacher and I am really working on it. But I have sent many notes home, etc.
I think another part of this whole thing is the fact that I had to write her kid up. He was stealing rubber bands from my bathroom closet. Which wouldn't be such a huge deal except he climbed onto the bathroom sink and stashed them in the ceiling. I couldn't get him to fess up to it, but every other kid in class said it was him who did this. I spoke to the principal about it and she said to write him up, so I did.
Well anyways, my friend says I should really call this parent before Thanksgiving break. However, I don't have my laptop with my grades on it, nor any of his previous work evaluations. So I have nothing I can really discuss with her. Plus I am down here with my mom who's recovering from major heart surgery. The lastthing I want to do is deal with school crap.
I am kind of mad at my friend for implying that this should be a major concern of mine right now considering what my family is goinig through.
I also don't know what to do about the situation. The mother wants the kid out of my class, which I wouldn't mind at all. He's very disruptive and doesn't do any work. Plus, my afternoon class is very big as it is.
This just wasn't something I needed to deal with this week..... |
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| Living for Casual Fridays |
[Aug. 28th, 2003|08:07 pm] |
Tomorrow is the Friday before a three day weekend. Hallelujah! Today was a very trying day. I think there was something in the air because none of the fifth grade teachers had a good day. I think I was the only one who had a good morning, but the afternoon completely invalidated that.
I'll start with the good. Every Thursday for the next 7 weeks, a sherriff is coming to my class to do this anti-gang program. Well I thought he was coming much later than he actually did so I didn't have time to prep my kids for having a guest speaker. Right before he began I basically told them that if I have to speak to them about their behavior it's an automatic detention. Well my first period class were angels ! They carried their good behavior over into specials so they earned a couple of chance tickets. Then they came back and did some group work, which also went well.
I kind of like teaching the same lesson twice in one day because I can tweak it for my afternoon class which is my hardest class. I learn what works and what doesn't with my easier class.
Most of my afternoon kids are with the teacher across the hall from me in the morning. Well she said they were horrible this morning so I prepared myself for this afternoon. Although it obviously wasn't enough because I spent the afternoon lecturing them on their behavior and for homework they have to write an essay on what they can do to improve their behavior. They will not shut up for five minutes! THey are driving me absolutely insane.
I didn't think it was possible to not like students but I have three that I honestly dislike. They are just nasty kids. I feel awful saying that, but that's what a journal is for, right? To say everything thats on your chest?
This morning I had a student in detention. Well, when I give my kids detention, I like to call their parents to let them know that happened. I called this one girl's number last night and left a message. Today when I get to school, her mother is there furious with me for not calling. She basically called me a liar when I told her that I did try calling and left a message. She insisted that there were people home that should have answered the phone. So I said "Let's go check what number I have and make sure it's the right one". Well it ended up being her cell phone and she had the message from me on her phone. I was rather pissed off that she came in my classroom ready to accuse me of lying. But I had heard that she rarely takes the side of the teacher when it comes to her daughter. Her daughter drives me up the wall! She is soooooo whiny! HEr mother completely tried to make it seem like her daughter didn't deserve detention. She wanted to know what she said during silent lunch (she had the detention for talking during silent lunch). I wanted to say "DOes it matter? She was talking during SILENT lunch." But I said that the rules were that no talking was allowed during silent lunch unless it is an emergency which it wasn't. She was asking another girl what time it was, which was really stupid b/c there's a frickin' clock on the wall in the cafeteria!!!!
Okay, I am done ranting for now. Must get some sleep..... |
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| Rainy Days and Mondays |
[Aug. 24th, 2003|09:25 pm] |
This week was rather interesting. I had to give four girls detentions. Three of them got detentions because they wouldn't stop talking. One got detention because I caught her forging her dad's signature on her agenda. We have the parents sign the agendas to make sure they are aware of the kid's homework. I am thinking of doing away with this procedure. First of all, not all of my students see their parents in the evening or during the week because of their parents' work schedules. Also I think half of the kids have been forging their parents' signatures since the first day. I really have no way of checking. Plus having to check their agendas each day is almost more trouble than it's really worth. But then again I can't seem to get my kids to do their homework. I gave them a word problem to do on Monday that was due on Friday. Two kids in my afternoon class handed it in. The rest either didn't do it, or didn't complete it. I can't figure out how to get them to do their work.
I am very frustrated right now because I have nothing I can take away from them as punishment. They don't get recess, so the only thing I can do is detention or silent lunch. Silent lunch is often a joke because it's hard to enforce and most kids don't care if they get it or not. I also don't know what sort of rewards I can give them. SO it's been hard to get them to do what I want them to do.
They haven't been studying either. I gave them math vocab words on Monday. Each night for homework they were to explain the vocab in their own words to an adult. Each day in class we went over the vocab. I gave them examples, they gave me examples. I showed them non-examples. WE discussed it, I used every method I know of to teach these kids these words. Yet on Friday when I gave them the quiz, one kid out of both my classes passed it. Every other kids got an F. Now, I know that often times when everyone does poorly on a test, it's sometimes the teacher's fault. So I showed the test to other teachers. They said the kids should have passed it. My mentor said that since everyone did fail, I might want to try quizzing them in a different format to make sure that it's their laziness and not that they really didn't understand the words. So this time instead of matching the definitions to the words, I am going to have them circle the examples of the vocab. We'll see.
These kids just need to get with the program. Apparently none of their other teachers pushed them as hard as they needed to be pushed. They are in fifth grade and can't even write in cursive. Plus they don't even know their multiplication tables or how to divide. I think I might have jumped into the curriculum too fast. I think I will do more reviewing with them this week. Maybe that will help. I am also definitely going to model for them (again) how I want them to answer their word problems.
Pray that I have the patience I need for these kids! Oy! |
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| First Week |
[Aug. 24th, 2003|09:20 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
I am about to begin my third week of teaching. I haven't been able to update this week because we had company staying in our computer room. Plus when I wasn't at school I was cooking or entertaining our company.
The rest of my first week went okay. Wednesday I had a confrontation with a student. I was going to have them do this fun science activity that involved drawing and she said she wasn't going to do it. Well that really pissed me off! Here I am trying to come up with something fun and different for them to do and this girl who'd already been bugging me cops an attitude about it. So I made them copy the Scientific Method off the board and taught that to them instead. Which I am sure was way over their heads. Looking back I think I should have allowed the rest of the class to continue with the activity and just sent her to another teacher's room since she was refusing to participate.
That night I felt like I should call her grandmother but I couldn't gather the guts to do it. I feel that first contact with a parent or guardian should be positive and I couldn't think of a single positive thing to say about this girl. So I figured I'd leave things be and see how she was the next day.
The next day she was 100% better. So that night I called her aunt and told her that she had a great day and participated nicely in class. I mentioned that she copped a bit of an attitude the day before but was much better today. I am really glad that i made that phone call because the girl has been better since.
I also called four other parents for positive reasons. I think most of them were caught off guard because they didn't say too much other than "thank you". But it made me feel a lot better, especially the next day when one of my students came in and said he got to go out for ice cream because of my phone call. I think I am going to try to make 3 positive phone calls home a week. Hopefully three calls per class.
Friday I took my afternoon class out for 10 minutes of free play. Never again will I do that! What a nightmare! They were wild, a fight broke out and they would not calm down when I brought them back inside.
But all in all my first week was okay. |
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| Days 2 & 3 |
[Aug. 13th, 2003|11:15 pm] |
Yesterday was great. I had enough stuff planned that I didn't have to fly by the seat of my pants. TOday was not so great. Some girls in my second period class have a real attitude problem. I am tired today.
More later |
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| Day 1 |
[Aug. 11th, 2003|08:35 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  calm | ] |
Well, I survived my first day. I am nowhere near as tired as I thought i'd be.
Here is a run down of how the day went. Got up at 6am and got ready. Was going to walk out the door by 7. I wanted to be at school by 7:30 so I'd have an hour to get things ready. Well I go to grab my keys and I can't find them. Panic sets in and after searching franticly I wake up Dan. He searches franticly right along side me. We can't find them. Now i am in tears and about to throw up. I call the teacher across the hall from me and tell her my problem. She immediately offers to come pick me up. Which was so incredibly sweet to me because it meant we'd be barely getting there on time. As she's heading my way Dan finds the spare key. I let my friend know and I head off to school.
On the way to school I have another panic attack b/c i realize that not only is my car key missing but so is my classroom key. My classroom key also opens the front door to the school and this is the first year they are allowing teachers such free access to the school. So, now I worry that I will ruin this privilege for everyone b/c I've lost my keys. Plus the school secretary comes across as very bitchy and I was dreading telling her I lost the key.
So I get to school at 8, a whole 30 minutes later than I wanted to be. I tell the school secretary about my horrible morning. She just smiles and hands me her set of keys and tells me to bring them back. I felt so much better.
The rest of the day though, I felt completely unorganized. This is the first year fifth grade is changing classes so things were a bit crazy as it was, which didn't help. Then I totally under planned for second period and I was grasping for things to do. So we played Around the World and then practiced fire drill procedures.
Regarding the kids, some of them have real attitudes. Especially the girls. ONe girl fell asleep while I was going over the school handbook. I walked by her desk, slammed my hand on it to wake her up and continued talking. My mentor teacher had a student fall asleep in her class too. She made the student stand up. I will definitely try that next time.
I did get a hug from one boy, which really made my whole day.
All in all, I guess it wasn't a bad start. I should have been more prepared with things to do and definately more organized. But I survived! |
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| Copy Machines! |
[Aug. 7th, 2003|05:48 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  stressed | ] |
I got to school this morning and my curtains and number line had finally stayed on the wall overnight! I was overjoyed. If they can just last until tomorrow night for Meet The Teacher night, I will be a happy girl. I guess hot glue really does fix everything.
Feeling a little overwhelmed today due in part to the fact that every copy machine in the teacher's workroom is broken! What a week for this to happen. So tonight I am going back to school and will probably use the office copier. I am such a rebel!
I am also going to finish my classroom newsletter tonight.
Today I finalized my class rules:
1. I will be respectful of yourself and others.
2. I will use appropriate language and gestures at all time. (The kids at our school tend to have very foul mouths)
3. I will ask permission before speaking.
4. I will ask permission before leaving my seat.
5. I will keep my hands, feet, and other objects to myself.
I also placed my color coded class lists on the board so the kids know what period they have me when the visit tomorrow night. I was really nervous about tomorrow night until I found out that it's more of an informal thing. More to see who I am and what room they are in. I was afraid I would have to present my rules, procedures, curriculum, etc.
I also found out today that when the kids have a snow day, we are still expected to come to school! Luckily, my principal understand that this is stupid and will allow us to make up the time for snow days by coming in early, on the weekends, or after school.
Well off to cook dinner before going back! |
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| Here I Go! |
[Aug. 6th, 2003|06:16 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  excited | ] |
I just want to dive into this journal so I will begin where I am at in my first year. School starts this upcoming Monday. Right now it feels completely surreal, I don't think it's really set in that on Monday morning I will be teaching in my own classroom for the very first time. That I will be responsible for the education of 40+ students.
My classroom is pretty much set up. It has an ocean theme because our school theme is Dive Into Learning. On the wall in my hall I have a display called Splash Into Science & Math and I am going to display student work there. My classroom is huge and I have a lot of storage space. Because its' only my first year most of the closets and cabinets are empty. But I bet by the end of the year I'll be wondering where to fit all my stuff!
I have lots of fish and ocean stuff in my room. I also have a science center in the back where my counter and sink are. My math center is along the far wall and has a listening center. We have CD's for the kids to practice their math facts with. I have a TON of math manipulatives which is really nice.
I've decided that the first week will be spent going over my rules and guidelines, the school rules, and the county handbook. I will role play with my kids the different rules and guidelines so they know exactly how they are expected to behave and act. I will also quiz them on these rules. This will be the first year the fifth grade switches classes so that will be an interesting experience.
The other fifth grade teachers seem really nice and supportive. My mentor is awesome. She's been teaching for 20 years and is still so excited and enthusiastic which is very encouraging for me. There is another new fifth grade teacher. She taught for 4 years in NY then took 3 years off to be with her kids. This is her first year back and at our school. Her and I have really clicked and been working together to share ideas. She's been very encouraging of me.
My biggest concern is classroom management. I know that if I can get the kids under control, the curriculum will not be a problem. I LOVE the math series we're using. It's very hands on and non-traditional. The kids don't even have textbooks. Our science textbook stinks so we're not using that either. Which is fine by me. I don't really like textbooks and usually only use them as a resource.
Well I have to go get some work done. I just wanted to start this journal. |
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celticteacher's journal