4 posts from July 2008

 There was a huge difference between the two lessons I have recorded. In the first one I seemed to be conscious of movement and I appeared to be artificially making laps around the room to "touch four walls". In the second lesson, I seemed much more comfortable. I also seemed to have a much greater report with the kids. I could tell that I had relaxed my rules a bit as there was much more talking without hand raising , but everyone was still behaved and on task. I was doing a lesson on drama and had the kids to act out a play by Stephen King. They seemed to enjoy the opportunity to get up and goof off a bit while reading lines. I still had good management while the kids were doing something out of the ordinary. They enjoy mixing it up a bit and this was a good way to get them to work on their reading and pronunciation while thinking about the elements of drama. I joke a great deal more with the kids now and my body language indicates that I am much more comfortable in the classroom. I would say though that I should still be more consistent about sticking to the posted rules even though summer school is coming to a close. Order tends to prevent chaos and as I have let down my guard a bit there is a noticeable difference in the way the kids respond. I don't want to be "buddy teacher" but I also don't want to be a warden. I think in the Fall I will aim to really be consistent with discipline and still allow for lighter moments. 

I am sure this could be a really long blog but I will try and keep it to the point. One thing that has been a difficult thing to maintain is consistency. I feel that I began the summer really strong on consequences and would hand out consequences with equal regularity, but lately I have been a little more lax in my classroom management. I am still someone who prefers a quite classroom, but I allow a little more joking around and goofing off than I used to. I can tell that kids really notice to whom you give consequences and what those consequences are. They notice if you are more flexible with some students than others. Our classroom really has the very extremes of students, those who rarely speak and those that rarely are silent. We have the famous Cody and Jasmine and it can be hard to punish those that rarely make a sound while constantly dealing with a few students. I have found that in a few instances I have dealt a consequence to one of the more disruptive students while letting things slide with others. It is crucial that I remain consistent and go by the posted rules and not deviate. Then the students know what to expect and are not thinking that consequences are being given out unfairly. So at this point in my brief career I would say that consistency is my weakest area.

(1) Make them think you are crazy!

She had the infamous moment of overturning a desk on the first day to freak out her students. I think that is a golden idea. If they think you are insane, maybe they are less likely to do something.

(2) If they hate to read, give them an article on Lil' Wayne and just be glad they are reading.

Nothing can produce faster groans of distaste from our kids than asking them to take out a textbook. Reading is something they hate doing and it is something that they need the most work on. They cannot take their textbooks home and may have limited access to books so that makes it hard to improve their reading. I have had mixed feelings about dishing out a plethora of rap and basketball oriented material, but it is true that it does hold their attention. Carmen suggested that if you can just get them to read than you are winning the battle. I try to supplement a Lil' Wayne with a little Poe and Twain with moderate results.

(3) Use practice test questions as Do-Now's

We all do not want to teach to a test. We also realize how unprepared, shocked, and poorly they do on the standardized tests. Carmen said that she uses practice test questions as Do-Now's and then the students become familiar with the wording of the test questions and it provides for an introduction into an objective. I think it is a great idea.