Friday, April 30, 2010

Thursday, April 29

Rose #1: Today, my student with autism recited the Prologue from Romeo and Juliet almost perfectly. 7 of my ten students refused to even try, but that was almost totally wiped out by this one student's "performance."

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!

Wednesday, April 28

1. I did the discussion activity with the post-it notes with my other 10th grade English class and they LOVED it. We had so much discussion we almost didn't have time to read. And it was GOOD discussion. Three of my male students are at the same age now that their parents were when they had them, so we've had some really great discussions about what that feels like.

2. My senior students continue to enjoy The Alchemist, and they continue to tell me they do. This makes me smile. :)


I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tuesday, April 27

Rose #1: I got the copy of A Raisin in the Sun that I ordered last week! It's the movie version with Sean Combs & Phylicia Rashad. I can't wait to show my kids!

Rose #2: I came up with an idea to do a fun discussion activity with my kids today where I gave them four post-it slips. Each student wrote his or her name on each of his or her slips, and then the students were required to speak at least 2 times to get credit, but could only speak a total of 4 times. It was fun to see students who haven't been involved in discussion get involved. I was being observed this morning, so I'm really glad I had the idea & that it worked!

There might be more roses today......wait and see!

I hope you stop to smell the roses today!

Monday, April 26

I have been sick, so there hasn't been much to smile about over the past week. However, I also realize that this blog is what helps me recognize those things that will make me smile, so I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things!

Rose #1: I attended my district's transfer fair today which gave me the opportunity to email with principals from other high schools in my district in case I decide I want to make a move. I only interviewed with one high school, the one closest to where I live, and it was fantastic. It really helped boost my confidence. You know how you feel when you have a really good interview? Like, oh, I am good at this! That's exactly how I felt, and I have to say, it's really improved my attitude. I was pretty cheerful on my way to work today.....which might have been more of a result of the fact that Adam bought me the Glee: Power of Madonna cd last night & I listened to it all the way to work! But, anyways, the interview was a really great experience for me and I'm proud of myself for following through.

Rose #2: My homebound student is doing so well! We are preparing for a big test in history and I decided that if I was going to be a good teacher, I better know the stuff better than her, so I went through the test she'll be taking and found all of the answers and read through different sections of the book so I could help explain things to her. She'll take the test today (Tuesday) and I can't wait to see how she does!

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Tuesday, April 20

Rose #1: A student reminded me that I needed to update my star students, so I did. I really like doing that and looking at how students have improved over the past quarter.

Rose #2: My B day 10th grade class has been carrying on some really great discussions about The House on Mango Street. I'm amazed at how much we have to talk about and how willing they are to participate.

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!

Monday, April 19

Rose #1: I decided to show Shakespeare in Love to my 9th grade classes. It does a good job of showing students what it was like during Shakespeare's time. My B day class started it on Friday and didn't respond as well as I wanted them to. My A day class on Monday, however, really responded to the movie. They were engaged and noticed parts of the movie that related to what we've been learning about.

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!

Friday, April 16

Rose #1: At our parent partnership meeting on Thursday, I awarded one of my students as most improved in English for the 3rd quarter. On Friday morning, he came up to tell me that not only did I make his day, I made his mom's day too.

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!