Great morning once again- afternoon- not so much!!!!
Interesting to watch the behaviour of a small group of students (5) affect the ability of the rest of the class to focus in the afternoon class. I need to put on my thinking hat yet again to figure out the answer to this conundrum as it is really bothering me. I am considering altering the timetable as I am not sure my French lessons are at the optimum time for language acquisition. I know I mentioned this earlier in the year and here I am again. Term 2 for sure a little tweak of the timetable might do the trick.
Homework
No new homework BUT there are two school days left for the missing assignments to be included in the term 1 report card. In some cases I am 'digging' them out of binders as I am doing the binder organization checks!!!
Some students who have agreed to present at the Remembrance Day assembly have their speeches and poems to review and read through tonight. I have every confidence that they will be prepared to read and practice tomorrow.
General Day
Returned the Spelling test for Unit 7 -great job for the majority of the students- amazing results with most achieving between 10 and 12 out of 12. Impressive.
Math test today (advance notice on Friday so students could study the 3 concepts over the weekend). We provided some study time before the test and I set it up a little differently from other tests I have prepped for Math as I find that a number of students look at a three or four page math test and panic.
So I split the three concepts and only allowed them to work on one concept at a time. Once they had finsihed the first concept (prime numbers and factorization) they switched it out for the next (exponents and powers) and finally for the last concept (BEDMAS). I haven't had a chance to assess them yet but I wonder if it made a difference. There were no panic attacks which is great as I have had a few doozy's from stressed out students in the past!! I allowed the use of a multiplication table and a calculator for checking BUT all working had to be in evidence so the students could not simply write an answer. I planned this review test very strategically so I'll see what the results are like.
It was obvious the students who had prepared and studied and those who had not just in the body language and the general questions they were asking throughout the time. No surprises really!!!
Some students are having a difficult time meeting their responsibilities to themselves and there is a disconnect between the goals they set for themselves and the effort that is expended to meet those goals!!
Next was some class time for our novel which we are close to completing. Today we looked at the plot structure and we read through Ch 18 and 19 together to understand the author's use of the literary device of foreshadowing. We looked at the 'stroy map' and decided we must be near the climax or the turning point of the story as the author is using foreshadowing to tell us a possible way that the story might come to an end. The main character Jonas learns how his father is involved in the community's 'right of passage' called release and he is shocked and angry.
At this point I had the students consider with what they know now (we did character sketches last week) what would they think about doing next if they were in Jonas' shoes. One very powerful literary thought is the one that comes from the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, in which a character (Atticus Finch) remarks that we can't possibly understand a persons' motivations unless we walk a mile in their shoes. I'll check my references but I am pretty sure it is from Harper Lee.
Great morning. Lots accomplished. :)
After lunch- reading time took a while to settle into but they eventually got there - at least the majority of students did!
French was not productive- short term memory seems to be impaired with an extra hour's sleep!!! Phrases that we have gone over every week were not on the tips of tongues and at this point some students began to distract and others played along. Had to send a couple out. Frustrating! Hence my idea that I keep returning to- move the French lesson.
Remembrance Day speakers and roles- readings out- Ashleigh shared her poems and we set up the agenda and found positions for 12 students who wanted to be part of the assembly speeches and poetry readings.
I provided a puzzle for the students who were not involved in the Remembrance Day proceedings but I guess I just expected that they would be more respectful of the fact that they are pivotal to the success of the most serious assembly that we have all year. This took us into P.Ed. time
Phys. Ed. seriously late for the class- even so it was still very difficult to get the students to cooperate both with each other and with me. We literally had 10 minutes to set up and get involved in a game that never really had time to get properly underway. Again, frustrating!
Saved from one another by the Dismissal bell at 3pm
I held them back before we dismissed to ask them to consider their own part in the difficulties of the afternoon and come tomorrow prepared for a better afternoon.
Had IEP meetings after school- thank-you to the parents who made the effort to be there- it always helps to get your input and support. I think we might have solved a bit of a '"too much X box live" mystery that would explain things that we have been noticing this past couple of weeks.
It sure is dark outside. Habe a decent evening. Tomorrow is another day!
Mrs. J.
No comments:
Post a Comment