It's Almost October

I had intended to post every Friday, but I think I will now aim for at least once a month! :)

My class is currently working on a story from our literature book.  I have been covering "conflict" for several days using foldables, examples, class discussion, YouTube videos, etc.  The kids seem to be getting it, (one would hope, right?  I mean, they are 8th graders) although they are finding it difficult to identify with anything other than "Man vs. Man" conflict.  So today I asked them to use a highlighter and look for instances in our story that contain conflict.  I said,"Highlight sentences or phrases that would show conflict."  As I was walking around, monitoring the work at hand, I had one student come to me and say that he was going to highlight the entire story - it was his example of "Man vs. Story" conflict.  I couldn't help but laugh.  That was pretty clever, if you ask me!

At one point today, I had the students take short examples and try to decide if they were internal or external conflict.  It warmed my heart when I walked by one group that was arguing over the conflict being "man vs. man" or "man vs. society."  One of the students said, "You need to make the answer "man vs. society," or I will show you "man vs. man" conflict right here!"  Not that I condone violence, but it is always nice when kids take what you are teaching and apply it to their own lives! :)

Speaking of working in groups, I have moved my desks into groups of four, making "table groups."  I LOVE the way my room looks now because it opens up so much space.  However, I am going to have to spend MUCH time going over the process of working in groups.  This class is one of the most talkative I have ever had!  They don't seem to mind at all that I am giving instructions - they just talk over the top of me! It's crazy.  
One of the teachers in my building had a sign on her window that said "Everyone deserves a do-over," (or something to that effect).  I really liked that.  I am always willing to give kids a second, or third, or fourth chance, but I don't often give myself that same grace.  That saying made me think that it is ok to make changes in my classroom routine - even at almost nine weeks into the year!  I will be working on a process for managing my kiddos and helping them to be more academically successful (and at the same time, helping me keep what is left of my sanity!)

Reading Strategies

Wow! If these past two weeks are any indication, this year is going to fly by.  I walk into the school at a little after 7 in the morning and I don't stop until I walk out of there after 5.  The days have just zoomed by!

This week we worked on reading strategies.  Having two periods for class gives me more opportunities to cover material that I have never had before.  I have always skimmed over the reading strategies without much depth, but this year we spent the entire week working on them.  I found some fantastic resources on Scholastic and Teachers Pay Teachers.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Comprehension-Strategy-Resource-Binder-113408
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/strategies-active-reading

(Hopefully that shows two of the resources that I used)

Here are some photos of one of the activities we did...

After reading the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker, we made text connections.  The kids wrote connections they made-between themselves and the text, the text and the world, and with another text-on sticky notes.  We then posted them on large sheets of paper and discussed the connections.  Once we were finished, they took their sticky notes and placed them into their notebooks next to the foldable on text connections. 

We are quickly adding many pages to our interactive notebooks.  I am already thinking ahead to next year and making notes as to what should be changed.  Hopefully, I will have some time this year to work with my colleagues to see what they are using and how they are putting their notebooks together.  So far, my kids seem to be enjoying the process and are much more engaged.  I had one student say, "This is like art class with a little English thrown in."  To which another replied, "Yeah, too much English."  So, based on those two comments, I think I am on the right track! :)

TGIF!

Our first week is over.
I am exhausted!

I feel pretty good about our first few days, however, and am actually looking forward to planning for next week.  (That is, after I get into my jammies, crawl into bed, and sleep until 10 am tomorrow!) :)

The first day of school was pretty emotional for me.  My 4th grade son went to a new school this year, so I was thinking of him all day and wondering how he was doing without me being close by.  My middle daughter started 2nd grade and seemed to have grown up over night.  My baby started kindergarten (I cried as I watched her leave my room and head off to her classroom.  Her "pack-pack" was bigger than she is!)  As if that wasn't enough, my first class of 8th graders were starting their senior year of high school (many of them came by to see me and give me hugs!) and my principal's daughter, the little girl who took  her first steps in the middle school and whose diaper I changed on many occasions, started high school.  Geesh!

Ok.  So I am a sap!

I am loving our new schedule, though.  I have 3 blocked ELA classes (2 class periods long) and 1 Language Mastery class.  The kids have begun to decorate their interactive notebooks.  I brought in my Sizzix and they have had a blast cutting out the letters for their names and other shapes.  I am working on getting the books covered with contact paper, so I will have to post pictures once they are complete.  My classroom looks like a bomb went off in it - there is scrapbook paper and construction paper everywhere - but we will be done with the decorating part by Monday or Tuesday of next week.

I really do think that this is going to be a good year.  I am looking forward to the challenges of the new curriculum standards.  I am looking forward to working with a great group of kids.

                                   The poster I created that has a numbered spot for each students' exit pass (sticky note. )  This is near the door so they can post and go.

This is the beginning of my advisory board.   I have cupcakes with each of the kids' birthdays, and a "What are We Doing Today?" board.  (It's a Target, 5 frame collage).  I put scrapbook paper behind the glass and added die-cuts of, gasp, Hello Kitty!!  The background is all fabric - I took advantage of some great coupons and the teacher discount at JoAnne's Fabrics.

Here is my fruit crate that I use to hold our interactive notebooks.

So, once I get some rest this weekend, I say, "Let the good times roll!"

Sweating It Out

We are down to two weekdays before the kiddos arrive!  I have been working really hard in my classroom getting it ready for the year.  But this is what I am dealing with....

Yep...the air conditioner is still not working correctly.  Our building does not have windows that open, so we are dependent on air moving through the ventilation system.  There was a point late in the afternoon that something was working and my room did cool off, but then it quit again and promptly warmed back up.  (I took this photo right before I left...I forgot to check and see what the temperature was before the fans started working.)  Ok...enough whining. :)

I am so proud of myself.  When I left this afternoon, I was almost completely done getting my room ready.  All I have left to do is find some fabric this weekend to cover my bulletin boards.  This was quite an accomplishment for me.  Usually, I am frantically throwing things in closets minutes before the kids and their families show up for Back-to-School Night!  (I took a photo of my desk to show how tidy it was, but from the photo it still looks cluttered!)

I put together a new podium (yay!!) that I can use to hold my really heavy teachers' edition literature book and I put up some Hawaiian decorations to brighten the room. (It feels like the tropics in my room, I may as well make it look the part!)

New podium!!

So, Tuesday is the big day.  I can't wait to start the new year!

Wait, Wait! I'm Not Ready!

Tomorrow is the day.  Teachers report back to school.  The temperature is in the 90s.  I still have millions of things I wanted to accomplish.  And yet, tomorrow is the day.  It will be here in less than 24 hours and there is nothing I can do to stop it.

However, I am excited just as I am every year at this time.  We have new school supplies (there is just something about a brand new box of crayons that makes me giddy!) and new school clothes.  I went in to work on my classroom this past weekend and a friend helped me move furniture.  (I really hope they have the air conditioner working by tomorrow because it will be a little on the uncomfortable side if not!)

A few random things:

• I have been reading Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink.  (It is geared mostly to business, but I learned about it from the Scholastic Instructor magazine and found that much is applicable to schools.)  I am currently working on my unit for persuasion and am going to use some of the evidence in this book as my non-fiction text.  Pink brings up the fence whitewashing episode from Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer as an example of the truth behind motivation.  "Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do."  I will be using that episode as well.  I'll post again once I get all these ideas contained into something understandable!
• I attended a conference last week and had the pleasure of meeting Neila Connors.  She is the author of If You Don't Feed the Teachers, They Eat The Students!  What an amazing woman!  Have you ever met someone that you just feel like you have known them forever?  That's how I felt when I met her.  She was so positive and motivating that I felt like I could go out and change the world after talking with her.  Best of all, I felt reaffirmed about being a teacher.  I do make a difference and I truly believe that I was called to this line of work.  (Remind me of that come December and I am feeling overwhelmed by all that has to be done!)

So, back to my day with my three lovely kiddos.  I plan to take them to the movies or something else fun to celebrate our last day of summer vacation together.

Fluff

I really don't have a lot of exciting things to blog about today.  I am enjoying my summer and I feel like I am accomplishing lots.  They may not be major things, but they are a million tiny things that I never seem to have time to do during the school year.  For instance, I performed a sewing repair on my stuffed panther - my classroom mascot.  (A couple of students of mine decided they would fight over who was going to hold him and they tore his leg off.)  The poor panther sat on my sewing table at home for 3 months and I finally fixed him last week.  Like I said, it may not seem like much, but when you have these little "things" that need to be dealt with, it is quite gratifying to finally accomplish them!

I also finished two other projects.  I made a name plate for my desk and a "No Name" board.  (See photos below)

Yes, I again added Hello Kitty to my decor!  :)  The great thing about making something yourself is that if you get tired of it, you can make another!!  

Let me just add that I ADORE my Cricut!  I love being able to add vinyl lettering to anything I want!

Planning, Planning, Planning

I have spent a lot of time on my computer this summer.  I am reading blogs, pinning on my Pinterest boards, and making notes.  This August will begin my second year as an 8th grade Language Arts teacher, and I am excited!

We are moving fully into implementation of the Idaho Core Standards this year.  I am a little nervous, but ready to accept the challenge.  I attended a technology summit last week and one thing I got out of that was a template to unit plans for the entire year!  (Maybe I am a little slow, but I had no idea where I was supposed to even begin planning for next year...I brought home the CCSS, my textbook, my ideas for an interactive notebook, but I had no idea where to start!!)  Anyway, once I found this, I was ready to get moving! (You can find the link I used here: Idaho Core Standards Integration Portal www.ed.isu.edu/depts.ccss)  Like I said, you may be miles ahead of me on this one, but I thought I would throw that out there just in case!

I am working on incorporating an Interactive Notebook for ELA this year.  I have used variations of one for a couple of years, but I am excited to put this into practice for the entire course.  I will show the steps I am using to set this up.  Here is my notebook cover.

As you can see, I am a Hello Kitty fan.  (One can grow older, but growing up is optional!)
TIP - Have kids decorate the cover,  and then use clear contact paper to keep the "stuff" from falling off and to provide a little more durability for the notebook. (I hate to say, this was not an original idea.)

Also, the kids will be attaching a 5x7 manila envelope onto the inside of the back cover.  This will be to catch pieces that have not been tacked down yet, or to hold things we don't want to glue down.  (As you can see, I decorated my envelope too.)

As I put this notebook together, I will post more photos.  I also plan to post photos of my classroom as I work on the continuous search for organization!!!

One last thing for today.  I have been drinking LOTS of Crystal Lite this summer to complete another project I saw on Pinterest.  I am lucky enough to have magnetic white boards, so this is great!

Again, with the Hello Kitty theme!  :)  I used Hello Kitty duct tape to cover the containers and then added some adhesive magnets.  (The magnets are ones that are intended to attach to a business card).  One magnet wasn't quite enough to hold the container, so I used a little more than half of a second one.  It worked great! I now have some handy storage containers for items that I am always losing at the front of my room.

The Year is Half Over!

Um, well, so much for keeping up to date on my teaching blog!  I was just reading this fantastic blog by another middle school teacher and somehow stumbled upon mine.  Yikes.  In my defense, I must say that this has been an incredibly busy year and I am amazed at how quickly it is flying by!

I have been enjoying the year as an 8th grade teacher.  I have been teaching for several years, and rarely have I taught the same thing two years in a row!  I feel like a first-year teacher every year!  I guess that is to be expected, however, when one teaches in a small school.  (Other than the resource teacher and our ESL teacher, I am the ONLY 8th grade ELA teacher!)  I am truly hoping that all I am doing this year will only make next year that much easier.

One thing that I have been doing this year is using some ideas from Rick Morris's New Management Handbook.  (I'm not sure of the legality with linking to his page, but you can check it out using a simple search.)  I color coded all of my classes and numbered my kiddos.  It is working pretty well...as with any new system, you have to try it out and see what works best for you.

One point that Morris made in his book really stuck with me.  He stated that being organized was a sign of being in control.  That has been a huge challenge for me and so I am working diligently this year on keeping on top of paperwork and all the other classroom management "stuff."  (I will post some pictures of what I have been using.)