Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Progress Reports

    So it is 4 1/2 weeks into the school year which means...
 PROGRESS REPORTS! 
 Whoop whoop! 
   I start the year off talking to my kiddos about whose responsibility it is to keep their parents informed of their learning. It IS their own responsibility or at least that is what I believe. Anyway I also promise them I will not run behind them and call their parents if they are failing or not completing work. I have done neither. I recently bumped into a parent in the Wally World and she asked how her student was doing. I joked about her student being a little talkative, and how I enjoyed having the student in my class but looked directly at the student and did not mention grades. I have spoken to my whole class weekly about "it's their learning", "their responsibility", and "their work". Now, it is time to pay the piper, so to speak. I will see by the number of phone calls of to why the parents didn't know the student was failing, as to whether my lesson on responsibility is sinking in. I could just go on and on... 

    Just curious, how do you handle the work responsibility? Do you chase after missing assignments, call parents, beg and plead, or do you simply let the cards fall where they may?

 That is All, V

BTW The reports are due tomorrow!


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

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Sorry, New to blogging and trying to attract followers+not blogging=no followers. Wanted to share with you some pictures of one of my Science Interactive notebooks! This is the first time I am using an interactive notebook. I have always used composition notebooks for note taking because the students cannot rip out the pages willy-nilly. I have also always set up my science book with labs in the front, notes in the middle, and vocabulary in the back. I have never set a teacher input / student product pages system. If I wanted a product I would create or give a worksheet, collect it, grade it, and then BEG the students to put it in their science folder so they could reference it later. We all know how well that worked out. So for the last year I have been reading blogs and researching (pinteresting) about interactive notebooks and thought I would put my spin on it.
This is the table of contents at the very beginning of the notebook.
This is one of the labs!
The rules of the lab. I will share with you the notes / interactive part in my next blog! Hope you are having a fabulous year! Stender

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

   So back to my why do I have to procratinate over everything I think to myself with my feet cooling in my pool. . . I think up these grandiose plans or solutions or whatever and I begin to set them in motion, well then I get bored, overwhelmed, distracted (you choose) and I am then stuck coming up with a last minute fix.  It perpetuates because my "fixes" are as fantastic, so says my team/boss/husband/kids. You get the picture? I may need intervention.
    My pupils are challenging me to become a more reflective teacher in how I present instruction, how I collect student work, classroom procedures, the whole kit-and-kaboddle.  What I have learned so far...my instuction must be more structured. The students need more "fill-in the blanks" hands-on notes. Good thing I have embraced interactive notebooking. I have got to still figure out a different way to collect student work and to get it consistantly from everyone.  Tell me how you do it, PLEASE.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

     Okay, have finally created a blog after a full year of blog stalking many great bloggers!  I felt I needed a place to reflect on my practice and to hear how others in our much misaligned profession are keeping it pure for our most precious commodity!   
     I imagine that this sight will continue to evolve as I am a jump-in-the-deep-end-see-if-I-can-swim type of learner.
    Not too bad for my first attempt but now I hear writing journals calling my name and the dryer is going to buzz soon. 
Enjoy,
V