Seven Things About Me AND the First Two Days of School Debriefing

         A blog that I follow (a great teacher's blog) reminded me that I AM a human, along with being a superhuman (which is what you have to be these days in order to teach).

          She writes with humor and sharp stabs of reality.  Giving me an "Amazingness Award" (which is just a way of one already-overwhelmed teacher acknowledging another), she said I should pass this on to other teacher-bloggers and share seven things about myself. (Thank you, Underground Teacher.  I needed a little nod in my direction.)

         So, here goes:

1.  I like working with third graders, because you can mess with their mind.  Every year I convince my students that I used to be a professional wrestler 30 years ago. I hint that at some point, I have some secret holds and moves that I will have to use on them. I even tell them what my stage name was: "Rowdy Roslawski."  Their eyes widen and they are thrilled to have such former-greatness in their midst.  As nine-year olds, they still are trusting...

2.  All the questions that alcoholics can answer "yes" to about liquor, I can answer about chocolate.  It's a sickness.

3.  I really dislike colleagues who dislike children.  Why teach, then? (Get out!)  Every school has at least one.  Unfortunately, the kids have better radar than the adults; kids know instinctively which adults are genuine and caring, and which ones are fake and bothered by them.

4.  I watch way too much television.  It's my drug of choice in the evening (while I'm eating chocolate and grading papers).  The shows I love are The Closer, Sons of Anarchy, and Glee.  (I know, a wild range. There's some cooking/singing/dancing/modeling "reality" shows that I won't admit to watching.)

5.  Every situation you can think of can be connected to a Seinfeld episode.  Every single one.

6.  I am not above cheating, when it comes to playing board games with my son.  He's 22 now, but even when he was 11 or 12, his  strategic skills were amazing---he always won.  I could not cheat when we played Pente, or cards, but when we played Monopoly, I could. (When he would go to the bathroom, I'd help myself to some extra money. I figured it was my duty as a mom:  take him down a peg or two.  (After all, it is not good for kids to always be victorious.  They have to experience losing so they learn how to deal with it.)

photo by rutty

7.  I love my job.  It does not pay as much as some other professions, and we keep getting more stuff loaded onto our backs, and the big "perks" as a teacher involve some free food in the lounge, but I could not imagine doing any other work...

          We have had students for the past two days, and so much of the first few weeks revolve around building community, practicing lining up, and setting the tone.  I have some students who are going to test how hard my head is...I can already tell.  However, there is a whole group of them who are like "D."

            "D" sits at the back of my room (the desks are in a U shape) and is quiet.  He's new to our school.  His eyes glisten like obsidian (I think I'm remembering my science right--the glossy volcanic rock?).  When I speak to the class, or when we've discussed an activity and now it's time to work, it's as if he's poised, about ready to take flight, torn between wary and eager (or so it seems to me). The young man who sits next to him is a chatterbox, yet "D" does his best to ignore.

             "D" is why I am a teacher...

First Day of School: Aw, Come On...Writing Already?

         On our first day of school, I always have my students write for 5 minutes.  They get to choose the subject, and I direct them to pick a topic they know a lot about.  For example, some of my boys are football players, and are confident they've got oodles of experience to pull from.  Some of the students have a particular musical group they know a lot about.  I suggest the children choose something they are an "expert" about.

           They write the topic they are writing on at the top of their paper. I then set the timer for five minutes, encouraging them to write for the whole time; if they get stuck in a rut, I tell them they should try to keep the writing flowing...

            After collecting the papers, later in the day (or the next day) I count the number of words in their piece, and write in on their paper.  I then file the papers somewhere where I can find them at the end of the year.  (For me, a clutter queen, this is sometimes a challenge...)

            In the last few weeks of school, I hand each student a blank piece of paper.  On it is their name, and the topic they wrote on earlier.  Again the timer is set for 5 minutes, and the class is given the same directions.

              After counting the number of words they wrote, we compare the two papers, and discuss.  What differences do they notice between the two writings?  What did they learn, which is evident from the second stab at the subject?  How did they grow as a writer?  How did their feelings about writing change over the school year?  Why is increasing stamina important to a writer?

              The two papers can be stapled together, and the students can even write a letter to their parent, outlining how they have grown as writers and what kind of writing strategies they have added to their tool belt.

             What kind of writing activities do you do that will serve as evidence of writing growth?  I am always in the mood for some alternatives...