I've not blogged about class in so long that I'm pretty sure my license is going to be revoked or expire or something!
This past month we had two more days of service, and continued through The Six Most important Decisions book. We've actually wrapped up Parents and are making our way into Dating and Sex. We had some good discussions last week as we looked at survey results.
It was fun to look at how little or how much some students knew about their parents and vise versa. I think it offered a good opportunity for my students to have a conversation with their parents. Even some who swore they knew everything and told their parents everything tended to get something wrong.
This week we've started in on rules of dating. Students are currently posting personal type pages as a blog on NING. They can get extra credit by replying to someone's ad blog with a hyperlink to their own personal page.
I am going to try to make an effort to be better at this!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Cursed!
I think I might actually be cursed. And I'm pretty sure they're going to revoke my seminar license. We had another eventful Friday to say the least. But before we get into that, let's take a look back at the week. Moving along with the second decision, Friends, we wrote another journal before exploring friendship survival tips. The journal was, "Write about something nice you can plan to do for a friend or group of friends in the near future. How will this improve your relationship?" The class was split into groups that each had a single tip to explain or illustrate to the class. It was kind of interesting seeing what they took a way from each tip.
The second part of the class we wrote another journal:
“It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.” Explain. Is this true? Give examples. This part of the book focused on peer pressure. There was some good conversation about how to stand up to peer pressure. Mr. Pitts also flew us all to UNC from the moo I think via Google Earth. It was really cool being able to zoom in on areas of the campus and see some pictures. It made things on Friday's trip stand out that much more.
Friday we rolled out as close to 7:30 as I could make it. Thankfully we had Mrs. Bolick as a guest driver! She really did save the day; although, most of the kids had no idea. The trip was much longer than I had planned on, so we missed our tour time. But Ms. Brody got the kids into an informational lecture, which was very informative. Then we ate lunch in the pit! It was really a chill day. The unfortunate part was that we had limited time. So after enjoying the culture of the pit, we headed to Franklin Street where we got to do some shopping and take in more of the culture.
The kids seemed to really enjoy the relaxed nature of the day. However, my curse struck again! We had gotten to Statesville on the way home when I40 turned into a parking lot. Luckily I knew a few ways around. We had to go a bit out of our way, but still made it back to school before the dance...almost an hour late but before the dance!
Next time I'm adding an hour for traffic's sake!
The second part of the class we wrote another journal:
“It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.” Explain. Is this true? Give examples. This part of the book focused on peer pressure. There was some good conversation about how to stand up to peer pressure. Mr. Pitts also flew us all to UNC from the moo I think via Google Earth. It was really cool being able to zoom in on areas of the campus and see some pictures. It made things on Friday's trip stand out that much more.
Friday we rolled out as close to 7:30 as I could make it. Thankfully we had Mrs. Bolick as a guest driver! She really did save the day; although, most of the kids had no idea. The trip was much longer than I had planned on, so we missed our tour time. But Ms. Brody got the kids into an informational lecture, which was very informative. Then we ate lunch in the pit! It was really a chill day. The unfortunate part was that we had limited time. So after enjoying the culture of the pit, we headed to Franklin Street where we got to do some shopping and take in more of the culture.
The kids seemed to really enjoy the relaxed nature of the day. However, my curse struck again! We had gotten to Statesville on the way home when I40 turned into a parking lot. Luckily I knew a few ways around. We had to go a bit out of our way, but still made it back to school before the dance...almost an hour late but before the dance!
Next time I'm adding an hour for traffic's sake!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Again!
I'm getting so bad at this. I had a good excuse, but you know what they say about excuses. So let's get right to it. Two weeks ago, we had a crazy week with the PSAT. We had our normal Wednesday morning on Tuesday, and then Tuesday afternoon, we had a rotation of PSAT Prep, connections, and Student Led Conference prep. Wednesday morning was the PSAT and that afternoon was a normal Wednesday. Thursday was a regular Thursday, and Friday we returned to service.
So for the one day we had that week, Mr. Pitts led the class through a reflection of their Interviews. They also discussed the top 10 mistakes that applicants make in college essays. They looked at samples and began work on theirs.
Come Thursday, I was out with sick babies. My daughter ended up with an ear infection, and they thought that my son had strep. I stayed out with Zayden the rest of that week and the first part of this past week. I didn't get back to school until Wednesday.
The first part of the week was spent peer editing essays. The second part of the week students participated in a fish bowl discussion of Friends.
Friday we had Accuplacer testing in the morning and The Crucible in the afternoon.
This week we will continue to explore Friends.
So for the one day we had that week, Mr. Pitts led the class through a reflection of their Interviews. They also discussed the top 10 mistakes that applicants make in college essays. They looked at samples and began work on theirs.
Come Thursday, I was out with sick babies. My daughter ended up with an ear infection, and they thought that my son had strep. I stayed out with Zayden the rest of that week and the first part of this past week. I didn't get back to school until Wednesday.
The first part of the week was spent peer editing essays. The second part of the week students participated in a fish bowl discussion of Friends.
Friday we had Accuplacer testing in the morning and The Crucible in the afternoon.
This week we will continue to explore Friends.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Two for One?
So I totally missed last week's blog! Let's see here's the week in 30 seconds or less: the week started with the class being assigned about four pages to prepare a lesson from. The second part the lessons were taught, which went well. Friday was an early release and we did some PSAT prep.
That's awfully compact, but pretty accurate. We did some updating too, but that was the gist of it. This past week Mr. Pitts has taken more of a lead in the planning. I began by presenting a little information about the presentation we went to see on Wednesday and about our trip to The Carl Sandburg Home. Then Mr. Pitts led the classes through reading another section from our book. At the end of the reading, each table shared what they found interesting. Then Mr. Pitts had the class write about four areas: Passion, Talent, Need, and Conscience. We were looking for a place where those four areas overlapped. It helped some students begin to think seriously about what they want to major in when they transfer to a four year University.
The second part of the week Ms. Brody came in and we explored CFNC. After about 15 minutes of getting everyone into their accounts, we took some quizzes to find out which majors and or careers might fit our personalities. There was also a pretty cool tool that let you compare careers. Students worked on a worksheet that they e-mailed back to themselves for future reference and use.
Friday was a long day but still a lot of fun. We left later than I had hoped because several people were late or just didn't show up at all. But before too long we got out on the road. We drove to Flat Rock, NC were we visited The Carl Sandburg Home. The park, which was Sandburg's home from the 40s until his death in '67, was gorgeous, the park staff was awesome, the kids were well behaved, and the program we went through was very informative. All in all, it was a fantastic day! The only thing that would have made it better would have been not running into spontaneous construction traffic and an accident which put us over an hour behind.
This week, it's more work to get ready for mock college interviews, interviews, and a return to service!
That's awfully compact, but pretty accurate. We did some updating too, but that was the gist of it. This past week Mr. Pitts has taken more of a lead in the planning. I began by presenting a little information about the presentation we went to see on Wednesday and about our trip to The Carl Sandburg Home. Then Mr. Pitts led the classes through reading another section from our book. At the end of the reading, each table shared what they found interesting. Then Mr. Pitts had the class write about four areas: Passion, Talent, Need, and Conscience. We were looking for a place where those four areas overlapped. It helped some students begin to think seriously about what they want to major in when they transfer to a four year University.
The second part of the week Ms. Brody came in and we explored CFNC. After about 15 minutes of getting everyone into their accounts, we took some quizzes to find out which majors and or careers might fit our personalities. There was also a pretty cool tool that let you compare careers. Students worked on a worksheet that they e-mailed back to themselves for future reference and use.
Friday was a long day but still a lot of fun. We left later than I had hoped because several people were late or just didn't show up at all. But before too long we got out on the road. We drove to Flat Rock, NC were we visited The Carl Sandburg Home. The park, which was Sandburg's home from the 40s until his death in '67, was gorgeous, the park staff was awesome, the kids were well behaved, and the program we went through was very informative. All in all, it was a fantastic day! The only thing that would have made it better would have been not running into spontaneous construction traffic and an accident which put us over an hour behind.
This week, it's more work to get ready for mock college interviews, interviews, and a return to service!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Moving Right Along....
We began our week exploring more of our book, 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make. Specifically, we read the first 15 pages or so of the first chapter, School. The focus is on staying on the high road and seeing it through. at times you feel like you're preaching to the choir, but it's worth stressing the importance of staying in school.
The second part of the week we had two rotations. Mr. Pitts was in charge of one and I the other. When with Mr. Pitts, students took a survey and participated in a webquest type of assignment. The survey gave students their personality type and possible majors related to their type. Then they went on to find more information about majors and careers. They looked at unemployment rates and found colleges that offered their majors.
When they were with me, we worked on our social network on ning. First they wrote a blog about all of the things they've ever wanted to be when they grew up. They were required to have at least one embedded hyperlink. Then I asked them to go over to the forum section and respond to my question about their favorite part of junior year so far. If they had time, I encouraged them to respond to another forum.
Friday was our second service Friday. We returned to the same locations that we were at the Friday before. The highlight of the day for me was reading a story to one of the kindergarten classes. It was also very nice to pick up each location and be back at school in plenty of time to catch the buses. We have four service Fridays left, the second and third Fridays in October and November.
I can't wait to see what this week brings!
The second part of the week we had two rotations. Mr. Pitts was in charge of one and I the other. When with Mr. Pitts, students took a survey and participated in a webquest type of assignment. The survey gave students their personality type and possible majors related to their type. Then they went on to find more information about majors and careers. They looked at unemployment rates and found colleges that offered their majors.
When they were with me, we worked on our social network on ning. First they wrote a blog about all of the things they've ever wanted to be when they grew up. They were required to have at least one embedded hyperlink. Then I asked them to go over to the forum section and respond to my question about their favorite part of junior year so far. If they had time, I encouraged them to respond to another forum.
Friday was our second service Friday. We returned to the same locations that we were at the Friday before. The highlight of the day for me was reading a story to one of the kindergarten classes. It was also very nice to pick up each location and be back at school in plenty of time to catch the buses. We have four service Fridays left, the second and third Fridays in October and November.
I can't wait to see what this week brings!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
How can a short week be so long?
Last week was technically a short week, but boy it didn't feel like it! We blitzed on Tuesday, which means before lunch we had seen all classes. They were quick thirty minute classes, but it worked out better to keep things together. We mostly just worked on our 6 Goals for the 6 Decisions and updated our planners.
The second class of the week, we started by organizing our binders. We're only half way through the first 9 week grading period and already notebooks look like an Office Max exploded. We sorted through and put everything in its place. The next part of class consisted of tallying a weeks worth of out of school behavior. Everyone, myself included, logged a weeks worth of activities when we're not in school. We then took time to categorize those activities and total the hours spent doing various things. I collected these for a future lesson.
Then we read "School vs. Education" by Russel Baker. It's a satirical piece that questions what it takes to become "educated". We then had a good discussion about how one becomes educated and the control we have over our education. We talked a bit about attitude and desire being the key difference between going to school and getting an education!
Friday was September 11th, the anniversary of a travesty. It was also the National Day of Service and Remembrance. I was glad that our first service Friday was on the National Day of Service. At the end of the day, most everyone seemed to have had a good time. There were definitely quite a few students on my bus who were very excited about their day. And we made it back to school in time for the buses, so it was an awesome day!
The second class of the week, we started by organizing our binders. We're only half way through the first 9 week grading period and already notebooks look like an Office Max exploded. We sorted through and put everything in its place. The next part of class consisted of tallying a weeks worth of out of school behavior. Everyone, myself included, logged a weeks worth of activities when we're not in school. We then took time to categorize those activities and total the hours spent doing various things. I collected these for a future lesson.
Then we read "School vs. Education" by Russel Baker. It's a satirical piece that questions what it takes to become "educated". We then had a good discussion about how one becomes educated and the control we have over our education. We talked a bit about attitude and desire being the key difference between going to school and getting an education!
Friday was September 11th, the anniversary of a travesty. It was also the National Day of Service and Remembrance. I was glad that our first service Friday was on the National Day of Service. At the end of the day, most everyone seemed to have had a good time. There were definitely quite a few students on my bus who were very excited about their day. And we made it back to school in time for the buses, so it was an awesome day!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Progress report? What? How did we get half way through the grading period?
I'm still trying to figure out how we've got to the midterm point? Wow what a ride! This past week was good.
Mr. Pitts led a journal on a quote that tied back to Dead Poets Society. We then discussed how it applied to the movie and our lives. Then we reviewed The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by discussing them. We then had a chance to get a broad overview of The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make. The decisions are School, Friends, Parents, Dating & Sex, Addictions, and Self Worth. We'll start with School! What are going to do about it! We answered some brief questions about each of those 6 decisions in our journals.
The second part of the week Ms. Brody came in and talked about University visits and our trip to UNC-G. I made a few announcements about college classes and the magazine sales. I handed out the rubrics for the finding my place Friday collaboration and for the Essential 55 presentations. Then Mr. Pitts led the class through an activity writing SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) Goals linked to the 6 Decisions. The goals will be placed in or on the students' binders.
Friday was a whirlwind University visit to UNC-G. It was a short visit, but a good day. We got to explore a little, got an awesome group picture, ate all we could eat, and roamed around campus a bit more before heading home. My group found the meditation room...the Zen garden was full of rocks, but the room was pretty cool. On the ride home, the bus I was driving tried to die...repeatedly. Nevertheless, the kids were awesome, and we had a fantastic day!
Mr. Pitts led a journal on a quote that tied back to Dead Poets Society. We then discussed how it applied to the movie and our lives. Then we reviewed The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by discussing them. We then had a chance to get a broad overview of The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make. The decisions are School, Friends, Parents, Dating & Sex, Addictions, and Self Worth. We'll start with School! What are going to do about it! We answered some brief questions about each of those 6 decisions in our journals.
The second part of the week Ms. Brody came in and talked about University visits and our trip to UNC-G. I made a few announcements about college classes and the magazine sales. I handed out the rubrics for the finding my place Friday collaboration and for the Essential 55 presentations. Then Mr. Pitts led the class through an activity writing SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) Goals linked to the 6 Decisions. The goals will be placed in or on the students' binders.
Friday was a whirlwind University visit to UNC-G. It was a short visit, but a good day. We got to explore a little, got an awesome group picture, ate all we could eat, and roamed around campus a bit more before heading home. My group found the meditation room...the Zen garden was full of rocks, but the room was pretty cool. On the ride home, the bus I was driving tried to die...repeatedly. Nevertheless, the kids were awesome, and we had a fantastic day!
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