Random Thoughts from a Random Memo Pad

I suffer from Too-many-notebooks Syndrome. I have a house notebook (all my dreams of remodeling / decorating for our house), a Lost notebook (all of my theories and questions about one of the greatest TV shows ever), a Writer's Notebook (duh), a Staff Development notebook (duh), and countless other little note pads where I jot things down.

Here are some ramblings I found and wanted to record before I lost them:

Teaching with The Outsiders

• If we're going to call the unit, Friend, Foe, or Frenemy, then we need to focus on friendship and bullying. Maybe we can (1)start with a survey about bullying {we already kind of do = our anticipation guide} (2)share the bullying matrix and identify examples in the book as well as in our own lives and (3) incorporate a PSA about bullying
• Maybe throughout the reading, we can have warm ups with sentences from the book and others that have similar themes, like (1) The Revealers (2) Romeo & Juliet (3) The Chocolate War (4) Scorpions (5) Schooled (6) Star Girl.
• I'm not satisfied with how we do vocab with The Outsiders. I would like to try an ongoing word wall that kids add to throughout. I think the words become more meaningful when the kids select them. And I don't want to assess the vocab like we have in the past.
• How much can we really continue to read in class? I think of all the activities we could be doing in class, but we're always reading. We also need to talk to 6th and 8th grade and see how we're handling this topic at each level. I would like to attempt a read in and out of class model, more like Reading Workshop.
• Let's let the kids count The Outsiders on their Reading Log.
• And like we've said for years, we need some non-fiction articles on bullying.
  

Reflections: TAG & Multi-Genre Research

My TAG students have completed a 5 week Multi-Genre Research project. I'm really proud of them; I feel like some of the expectations I set for them are comparable to work I did in high school.

The idea to complete a multi-genre research project came from our neighboring school. They complete one every year with their TAG kids with much success and lots of accolades. I will definitely do this again next year with minor adjustments.

From reviewing their final products these are areas of weakness I noticed:

• Some kids continue to struggle connecting their thesis to the rest of their paper. More often than not, they had an awesome thesis, but then the paper was just a list of information about the topic. I think this had to do with the order I taught the process. I should have had them write their thesis statements way earlier.
• Alphabetizing Works Cited (small but important)
• Internal documentation. This is no surprise to me; I didn't teach it, I "covered it".
• Fuzzy graphics. I need to teach the kids how to preserve the quality of a graphic when they copy it. Also need to reinforce citing sources for pictures as well as text.

I was thinking maybe next year of having the TAG class complete a multi-genre project at the beginning of the year as an introductory activity. They could choose any interest they have and research it. IDK, I'll think about it again in the fall.

Possible Workshop Idea: Life Graphs

When I saw that one of the expectations for Summer Job-Alike was "hands-on", it changed what I was thinking of sharing. One of the most hands-on activities we do all year is our Life Graphs. I've also brought it to protocols and received "warm" comments on it from other teachers.

So if I present this, here are my ideas so far:

• Title - Life Graphs: Life is Lived in Moments (thank you Clark for that title)
• Run through the lesson (in an abbreviated fashion) just like I would in my classroom
• Pick 10 good things and 7 bad things. Solicit ideas for other types of graphs besides line (together we can only make this lesson better). Graph, add pictures, write about two events, share.
• Have a PP with pics of the kids' work
• List TEKS involved, Multiple Intelligences
• Why should you teach this
• Mention vertical articulation - each LA grade has a similar beginning of the year activity: 6th=Where Do I Fit In, 8th=Mandala

Possible Workshop Topic: Analyzing Your Learning Style to Improve Your Teaching

Bare bones ideas:

• Invitational learning
• Setting expectations (and sticking with them: )
• Respect and classroom management = "The rights of every person are diminished when the rights of one are threatened." John F. Kennedy
• Answering questions
• Learning something new...what works for you...knitting...Wendy's knitting book - Custom Knits

More Thoughts on Reflection

As I narrow down the topics I want to focus on this summer, I keep returning to reflecting. I continue to lament the lack of time for my own, but I'm equally concerned about the lack of time I give my students.

I went ahead and asked my kids today if I could borrow some of their reflections from throughout the year. I also solicited their whole Writer's Notebooks. (Side note - I would also be interested in studying ISNs/Writer's Notebooks as a topic as well.) A lot of kids were ready to hand me their notebooks on the spot, but I told them to hang on to them because they would need them during the next two weeks.

Brandon approached me in 8th period and tried to hand me his despite my instructions. He persisted and explained that he didn't need anything in it at all. It got me thinking, why doesn't he need it? Julie and I attempt to do activities that we hope the kids will find important and worthwhile, but I guess they're not for everyone. Which leads me to think about, how can we make their writer's notebooks more valuable to them? I think the answer could be explored in depth, but the simple answer is, we need to use them more often and engage in activities that will inspire ownership.

Possible title = Reflection: Taking Time to Think Back

What I've Learned So Far: Band Aids Heal (Almost) All Wounds

Have you ever noticed, that sometimes all it takes to make a student feel better is a Band Aid? I used to try and conserve my Band Aids because I buy them myself. I would try to hold on to them for serious injuries. But when I realized how much better they make students feel, so I stopped pinching pennies.

Poem in Your Pocket Day

Last week we celebrated Poem in Your Pocket Day. The national day was in April to celebrate poetry month, but we were busy with TAKS and other things, so waited to celebrate. Some of the kids seemed a little dubious when I announced the special day, but when we discussed that song lyrics "counted" as poetry, quite a few more bought into the idea. George asked if he could bring his favorite Journey song, which I already knew was "Don't Stop Believin'" because he sings it constantly. I said of course and began looking forward to George's rendition on the classic.

The big day came and I had the kids sign up with seasonal partners so they could share in a comfortable setting. They had three different partners and George sang his song each time - the whole song!