Soccer ends next week... On one hand, it'll be nice to go to the gym right after school, get back into running and finally try out the GPS attachment to my sports watch (I know... I'm using soccer as an excuse)- but really... I will have some additional time- but I'll miss the two hours spent outside with the girls.
We have our three last games this week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. All in all, the ladies have one of the best JV soccer records our school has ever seen. I'm really proud of how far they came in three months. Last week, they beat one of their biggest rivals in over time. We tied this team twice already this season. (I finally agreed to over time play.) It was an awesome game.
With soccer ending, new projects are starting. As part of my annual professional development plan, I am reading several "teacher texts" to figure out what the experts are saying about writing, editing and struggling readers. One of the texts I'm most excited to read is Chris Tovani's I Read It, but I Don't Get It. Comprehension instruction has been a main focus in my classroom because of the NYS ELA exam. After analyzing our results we realized what our kids were doing and how they were approaching reading tasks. I think Tovani's book will offer some insight into the kids who are reading fluently, but still not recalling or capable of summarizing what they just read and gleaning meaning.
Some of the other projects are home office related. After finishing my Masters, I ended up with binder upon binder of information, class projects, reading strategies hand outs etc.etc. This wintr season I'll be cleaning up the home office area and finally weeding through that stuff to figure out what I might actually use again in my classroom.
But all that said... One more week and I think I might be helping out with the varsity team as they enter sectional season.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Fall in Full Force!
So... it's October 12th. The first official school-day off! Columbus Day comes at the perfect time- right after the first five-weeks of school are over.
This year's kiddies are a lot of fun. They're very skilled at literary discussion, and they have been able to spark some interesting discussion surrounding Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech. This is one of my favorite novels to "teach." (The kids do most of the teaching...) The dual stories of Salamanca and Phoebe keep the students guessing and engaged. I like to have my students read this novel early in the year to set the literary precedence in the classroom. I am always surprised and excited when the kids develop their own theories and reasoning. They have started discussing stylistic features of the novel. This is super exciting and makes my job that much more fun. They've been applying the quotations, which mysteriously appear on the Winterbottom's doorstep, to current events and their experiences. The most recent "gift" was "In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?" I love this particular quotation because of it's application for all types of people, any age, any race, any life experience.
How often do we worry about little, simple things... two weeks, two days, two hours even-later, that worrisome little detail is forgotten or put in perspective by something that will actually matter in the course of a lifetime. I tend to do a lot of this type of worrying in the beginning of the year... This year has been no different- it's nice to be reminded eloquently of what could be happening instead... I definitely do not have it so bad.
Soccer has been going well too. The JV girls have really surprised some fierce soccer critics. We had a tough loss on Saturday, but for the most part, this season has been one of the best JV seasons on record. I am proud of the girls on my team and their ability to rally and set a positive example- even when it has been tempting to act badly... (I'll resist the urge to name names or games in this case...) I have learned a TON through coaching at this level. It's not so different from being in the classroom!
This year's kiddies are a lot of fun. They're very skilled at literary discussion, and they have been able to spark some interesting discussion surrounding Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech. This is one of my favorite novels to "teach." (The kids do most of the teaching...) The dual stories of Salamanca and Phoebe keep the students guessing and engaged. I like to have my students read this novel early in the year to set the literary precedence in the classroom. I am always surprised and excited when the kids develop their own theories and reasoning. They have started discussing stylistic features of the novel. This is super exciting and makes my job that much more fun. They've been applying the quotations, which mysteriously appear on the Winterbottom's doorstep, to current events and their experiences. The most recent "gift" was "In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?" I love this particular quotation because of it's application for all types of people, any age, any race, any life experience.
How often do we worry about little, simple things... two weeks, two days, two hours even-later, that worrisome little detail is forgotten or put in perspective by something that will actually matter in the course of a lifetime. I tend to do a lot of this type of worrying in the beginning of the year... This year has been no different- it's nice to be reminded eloquently of what could be happening instead... I definitely do not have it so bad.
Soccer has been going well too. The JV girls have really surprised some fierce soccer critics. We had a tough loss on Saturday, but for the most part, this season has been one of the best JV seasons on record. I am proud of the girls on my team and their ability to rally and set a positive example- even when it has been tempting to act badly... (I'll resist the urge to name names or games in this case...) I have learned a TON through coaching at this level. It's not so different from being in the classroom!
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