ELA 101

The thing I l-o-v-eabout middle school is the incessant change!!  This constant state of limbo is pretty scary, but can also be a lot of fun.  This week, we’ve spent nearly every minute of English class taking the fabulous M.E.A.P. test (she said facetiously).  What I’ve noticed during these testing sessions are the ways in which my students really are kids.  Added to last week’s work time on neighborhood maps, when tongues were curled and lips were pursed in concentration, this week I’ve seen some pretty interesting faces as well.

And if there’s one thing students l-o-v-e about the M.E.A.P. test, it’s the suckers!!  That’s right.  A simply little Tootsie pop has them all a-twitter!  Today, in fact, we actually celebrated getting suckers when I noticed one particular student do a little “happy sucker dance” when he acquired his favorite blue sucker via trade. 

I guess it just reminds me that life is full of simple pleasures.  And even if I want to pull my hair out sometimes because I’m so frustrated by students…there still are these moments when they totally crack me up and allow me to remember why I love my job!

What about you?  What are some of your simple pleasures in life?  What makes you “do the dance?”

Week 5 already….Wow!  This week, both 7th and 8th graders have been digging deep into their memory banks for those priceless jewels.  You know, those totally unplanned, yet completely memorable family activities, or some your “finest” parenting moments.  Actually, most students are recalling things like accidents, emergencies, and a few first crushes. 

Many of you have completed your portion of this assignment as well by creating your list of 10 memories of your precious child.  I’ve only been able to give these a passing glance at this point (still knee-deep in 7th grade comics and 8th grade descriptive paragraphs – oh yeah, and whatever it is that my adorable child keep hacking up at 3am!!) but they are turning out fabulous! 

We will revisit these “neighborhood maps” later in the school year when students begin to work on their memoir.  You may have heard them talk about writing personal narratives in previous years, and a memoir is much the same.  One slight difference is that we try to guide students toward the events in their past that have evoked some kind of change in their lives.  Often these pieces are very meaningful to the students and reflect a great deal of time and energy.

Okay.  Here’s the nitty gritty part of this post.  Next week, starting Monday, October 8th, students will be taking their ELA MEAP test in their ELA classes.  This will continue all through next week and the ELA portion of the test will wrap up on Monday the 15th.  We spent the first couple weeks of this school year talking about the various portions of the test and different strategies they could employ to make it more manageable.

Lastly, students have received their weekly reading logs which I will collect on Monday, October 8th.  Students are asked to complete 60 minutes of reading time and obtain verification of said reading in the form of intials or a signature on their reading log.  We will not be doing a log next week in lieu of the MEAP. 

Have a fabulous weekend!

After the first week of school I can say without a moment’s hesitation that things went swimmingly.  I have been thoroughly impressed by the level of responsibility and accountability the students have demonstrated this week.

We’ve spent a great deal of class time talking about this year’s motto, “Building a Culture of Respect” and what that looks like on a daily basis.  Students have crafted poems, shared in small cohort groups to improve those poems, and presented to the class in an Author’s Chair format. 

In nearly every class there has been close to a 100% return on homework and student behavior has been tremendous.  Weeks like this have not been the norm for me, so I appreciate it and look ahead with hope (and confidence) that it will continue!

Hopefully everyone is starting to get used to hitting the hay a little earlier and getting up and around before noon now.  Aw, who am I kidding?  If I didn’t think I needed the practice getting out of the house of time now that I have a whole other person to care for, I would be milking every last second out of my summer vacation too!

Anyway, I just wanted to have something written under each category, so I decided I would begin by giving you the hours I will be teaching English 7.  Exciting, I know. 

If you have me for English 7 you’ll see me one of these times:

• Third Hour
• Fourth Hour
• Sixth Hour