Yes, it is that time again. For the next five days, PLUS the following Tuesday, my little angels will once again experience the joys of being tested to death. I took photos (they’re currently being uploaded, but I’ll post them here when I’m done) of the Before and After of my classroom. Last year I just took everything down. This year the principal suggested we just cover things. That’s nice, because last year things looked pretty bleak. This year the room looks like there are giant chocolate bars on the walls.
Ms. Delbridge and I had a great time this week. Earlier (a month ago maybe) we got together and had our students do a writing project together. Hopefully, I already wrote about that. This past week we did another project. Our students wear uniforms — white on top and dark blue on bottom. So they had to create a uniform. They had to design it and describe it. They had to create a persuasive poster and a persuasive essay. On Friday we hung the posters on the wall and had each student walk up and read them and vote on which uniform they’d want. Then they came up and read their essays and each student again voted on which was the most persuasive. It was great fun!
When we did the previous assignment together, I took the students’ photos and imported them into their story documents. Then I decided to look and see if the state had actual technology standards (which is a joke in light of our level of technology). They did, so I had the students create and describe a holiday. Then I taught two students how to move the documents from the keyboard to the computer, run spell-check, import a clip art, and print it out. They taught everyone else, so those were hung up on the wall next to the partner stories.
We had a pep rally on Thursday for the AIMS (the fifth graders had theirs on Friday). Three of my students were in the skit — so they gave autographs when they got back to the room! Wednesday’s PD (professional development, aka staff meeting) was about the AIMS and the site visit that took place Mon, Tues, and Wed of this week. A team came down from the state’s department of education. They observed in every single classroom, and met with staff individually or with a group. I was in a group. I was selected for the group, and the admins said they picked people who could be articulate about our school. We had to have the goals memorized in case they asked. They did ask, and I did have them memorized! Bravo me!
I get to go to a 2-day workshop in April, along with Ms. Delbridge. Others have already gone. I can’t remember what it is — I’ll look it up later (maybe there’s an e-mail about it). I’m looking forward to it, except the part about leaving my class with a sub. I left them with a sub for half an hour for the interview, and all hell broke loose.
The uniform posters:
The classroom BEFORE:
math and science standards, and student writing about what we did in math and science
math stuff and the poster they made the day after the presidential innauguration
they colored in their clip art after they printed the work out
partner writing with third grade
I Have A Dream project for Library
drawings by the Narnia book club
Writing bulletin board with of course the standards and Essential Question
more writing stuff on the walls that had to go
SFA (reading)
my antique computer and one of the keyboards the students use
AFTER:
