Testing, Testing, is this thing on?

I almost wrote this in the middle of the week just because of how well Monday and Tuesday went. We were back in stations, and the more we do it, the more I like it. We had three stations set up. One was on the computer writing assigned blog number two. The second was a parts of speech assignment, and the third station involved two groups playing an Odyssey introduction version of Hollywood Squares.

It takes some balance to make the stations work. I need to be sure of a few things if they are going to be successful. I have to make sure they have enough to do during their time but not too much. Perhaps most importantly, I have to make sure the directions are clear and easy to follow. This week it just worked. The groups working on their blogs and their parts of speech assignments got right to it and made the most of their time. The other two groups got to compete Hollywood Squares style. Playing the game let us cover the necessary background information for The Odyssey in a fun and interactive way.

By the end of Monday, I feared it might be a fluke, but after Tuesday, It proved not to be. I was just really excited that everything worked so well. I love it when a plan comes together!

On Wednesday and Thursday, we worked on peer editing our change essays for a while. We then switched gears and presented parts of speech presentations. At the beginning of the week, students were in groups and had to create a song or skit that introduced all 9 parts of speech and told what they do.

The presentations were really a mixed bag. Two classes (same day) really did a good job with it. Those classes created engaging songs and memorable skits that I hope will help them remember what the parts of speech are and what they do. The other two classes overall lacked focus. There were select groups in each class that got it, but in the last two classes, it was rough at times. Seriously one day I was wishing that I had recorded them and the other day I was glad I had forgotten my video camera.

Nevertheless, it was a good week. We wrapped things up by watching all of the podcasts. I have them all posted on my podomatic site. After watching the podcasts, we started the long process of testing. But thanks to text messaging, things went smoothly.

Well, I cannot wait to set sail with Odysseus this week!!!

TOGA! TOGA! TOGA!

What a week! I felt like I was pulling teeth like an old school dentist. In my case, the teeth were finished poetry podcasts. I'm hoping that this experience has demonstrated the need to use time wisely. Finishing podcasts can be stressful, but it's very rewarding to see the final products.

It all started with me being out while scripts were being written. I left explicit instructions both before I left and with the substitute that each group needed to write their script and leave a copy for me. I also explained that if it wasn't finished someone in the group should take it with them to finish before Monday and Tuesday.

Monday and Tuesday rolled around and scripts were incomplete. Many of the groups that hadn't finished in class simply forgot about finishing. This meant that when they were supposed to be recording and finding images, they were finishing their scripts. I then explained that they would need to find images during connections or at home if they were going to finish on time.

Wednesday and Thursday came and many groups were imageless. I demonstrated how to do the basics to get their podcasts ready, and then helped them get moving. I had explained that there simply wouldn't be enough time to find images and edit the podcast together.

Nevertheless, we pushed through and produced our podcasts. While the tone of this post may not convey it, this was a great week! The podcasts could have been better, but overall they're pretty good. I have a few groups who might want to fix it before they're presented, but they will do.

And along came Friday! Friday was so much fun. All of the freshmen teachers plus one junior teacher dressed in togas to go to discovery place. The kids were a riot. They couldn't believe we were really going to wear our togas into Discovery Place.

We kicked off our Shake-N-Bake unit with gusto! After seeing the Pompeii exhibit, I cannot wait to get lost in The Odyssey! I think a lot of what we saw will really help give a backdrop to the reading.

Let the journey begin!

Frustration & Fun Week Four is Done!

I HATE MISSING SCHOOL! That being said, this past week I was out Wednesday and Thursday. I had to work on fixing my bus license. I'll still have to miss another day to do the road work now that I've redone my classwork. It's all very aggravating, but when it's done I won't have to worry about it again for a while...I hope!

We went over the whys and the hows of our poetry podcast assignment early in the week, and while I was out the groups wrote their scripts. From what I've seen, I'm pretty excited. I had one group that had to record early, and the audio came out sounding pretty good. I can't wait to see the finished podcasts.

They've had a chance to explore a poem and wrote up a script about the poem and poet. Their next step will be to find images that support their words. We'll record their scripts and sync the audio with the images. When we're finished, I'll post everything on my podomatic site. The first few podcasts you'll find there are actually from short story animations, but if you scroll down, you'll find some poetry podcasts.

We had open house on Thursday, which was nice. I had to rush back from my training to try and be ready, but even that didn't take away from the night. It was fun to meet the parents of so many of my students. I hated that we ran out of time before I had a chance to speak with everyone.

Then Friday we had water presentations. The groups I saw did a nice job with it, and I heard that they all did. I was impressed with their first public, we had guests, speaking assignment. With practice they'll get even better!

We relaxed a bit in the afternoon and watched A Civil Action. The film fit perfectly into the pollution and river studies they had done. I even got more out of the movie than the last time I'd seen it thanks to their presentations.

We finished my rushed week by rushing back to the cafeteria for a special guest appearance. Tina Turner came to perform "Rolling on the River" (Proud Mary) complete with two Ikes and back up dancers! It was hilarious! I'll have to post the video when I get a chance, but alas it is late and sleep beckons! Here's to another great week!

Week Three

Wow!  This past week was a crunch week and now this week is setting itself up to be rather frustrating (I have to be out later in the week for bus driver training).  But that being said, life is still good!

Holidays really wreak havoc on an A/B type of schedule.  It cuts a day out which sets one group behind if you don't go at it from another direction.  I'm having a hard enough time keeping four groups together.  I've never been able to do that in the past.

Luckily we blitzed one day (saw all four classes).  So at the end of the week I had seen all groups pretty much equally.  We worked in small groups and rotated through stations.  It worked pretty well, but I need to be careful about time.  

In one station they worked on their blogs on Imbee.  During another station, they started working on their PBwikis.  Each group updated something either on their team page or on one of the pages in their team folder.  I've also added a slide show from Friday's activities to the wiki.

The other two stations involved comparing rivers to poetry and Haiku.  The kids seemed to like the combination of moving through the stations and the additions I added to each.  For example in the Poetry is a River, they had to read a passage, listen to a poem on mp3 players, and then write.  The Haiku station involved thinking about what must have happened to inspire haiku.

Thursday we went to Wilson Creek.   The kids got to get into the creek and do some water testing, hear about the history, and do some reflective writing.  For some of them the writing was excruciating.  I can't wait to get back to the memories they wrote about!

Friday we worked our way through poetry knots.  I've posted the slide show I made on the wiki, on my website, and I'm putting it here!  This week they get to put what they learned into action!  Here's hoping for the best!

Week Two

Seems like it's been more than two weeks, and yet it's really been only a few days. It's a weird balance to think about. Traditional time moves by, but because of our A/B type schedule, every week is really only two days of class. It's like a weird time warp!

Weird time warp or not, we seem to be making progress. We've finished reading Who Moved My Cheese and set up our Imbee accounts. About me projects will be coming in this week, and we'll be getting into poetry some.

The end of Who Moved My Cheese opened the door to some interesting ideas about what holds us back. We also explored what kinds of old cheese we've been holding on to even though we know better. We've started to think about ways we can embrace change and be better people.

Our Imbee accounts have opened doors of self expression! The first blog was about the first week of school or "cheese." Most of the students have finished that first blog, and a lot of them have gone beyond that to write several. We still need to discuss what exactly a blog is, but they're getting it. I've managed to read quite a few and leave comments.

One of the things I like about using Imbee is that it makes the blogs take on a greater importance. They become semi-public (only people on your friends list can read them). Having a bigger audience encourages students to take it more seriously. And It looks like some of the other freshmen teachers are going to set up accounts too! This will give even more of an audience to their voices!

Friday was the icing on an awesome cake of a week. Getting to spend the day with the kids out on the river was incredible, tiring but incredible. We went tubing down the New River. Due to the water and knowing that I was going to get wet, I didn't get any pictures or video, but Mr. and Mrs. Smith did!

The water was a little cold, but we had great weather overall. I finally got up the nerve to jump off the bank backwards. Which was a little more nerve wracking considering how many of the kids jumped from the bank and well didn't land so well.

I could have made it all the way down the river barely wet if it wasn't for a few things. I got out of my tube once to stop for a minute and move through the tubes. That couldn't be helped. The other thing came with different faces but all ended with wicked splash battles. Totally Not My Fault!

Looking forward to next week!