8.26.2008

Sayonara, Day Two!

Two days down and my classroom looks a little bit like a Staples exploded inside of it.

Orientation has been going well--in some ways, an overwhelming amount of info is coming my way. But my brain is, naturally, filing away and prioritizing everything.

I put up my first bulletin board today! And I only stapled my finger once. Don't ask me how.

On the agenda tomorrow: putting the myriad dates for meetings, conferences, interims, report cards, etc. into my calendar(s). Doesn't that sound fascinating?

I will also be creating a While You Were Out board with Mon.-Fri. pockets so students will be responsible for collecting materials they missed while absent. I'm all about measures that place greater responsibility on the student--a major paradigm shift for them, but an important one, especially as they move into 9th grade when they leave me.

I can't wait to meet my students next Thursday!

7 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Organization is key. You'll need all those dates in your calendar; much better to put them in now, so you can plan ahead, vs. scrambling later on.

I love the idea of the "while you were out" board. I wish my teachers had done that.

I hope you're planning on blogging as the school year rolls on. I know you'll be pressed for time, but I'm hoping I'll get lucky, because I really like reading about the teacher's perspective.

Anonymous said...

http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/nihil-obstat?wbx.location=http%3A%2F%2Fjustice4claire.blogspot.com%2F


Hey K

this device works on blogger strikes me as cool. see what u think.

Amanda Villagómez said...

I hadn't realized before that you are a first year teacher. Good luck with your first year. My cooperative teacher told me while student teaching to not do any extras my first year, even though they would try to rope me in to a lot. Nonetheless, I also agreed to be an advisor for a student club, MEChA. My pay was also excellent *cough*...haha, but it did end up to be a great experience, and I was able to get to know more of the student body.

I like your idea of having "While You Were Out" pockets. When I was in student teaching I decided on a "While You Were Out" binder, but I am still trying to figure out what would be most effective for my 6th graders. You have high schoolers, right? What are you teaching again? I am going to think over your pocket idea this weekend.

teach people not books said...

i have 8th graders, and i'm teaching language arts. the while you were out folder pockets works for me for two important reasons:

1. it takes up a bulletin board that i now only have to worry about changing the border of (what a lovely preposition-ending sentence for a l.a. teacher). extras, to me, also means not worry about the interior decorating part to the point of exhaustion. the other bulletin board will be lovely, so this one stays like this all year.

2. i can ask a student to put so-and-so's name on a handout (or 3) and put it in the "monday" folder pocket--no hole punching, no messing with the binder--to the pocket and back to what they were doing, and to what i was doing with them.

all i did was buy the longer manilla envelopes, write the days of the week (actually print signs b/c my school handwriting is awful), and staple the bottoms & sides of the envelopes up when i put them on the bulletin board.

:]

teach people not books said...

ps:

enc-organization is SO key. my mom came in (a 30+ yr. teacher) and whipped that room right in to shape yesterday. it's not that i can't do it, it's that so many things are intuitive to her, whereas i would have had to think about them for a little while. therefore the initial organization went much quicker than it would have had i been alone in the endeavor. i am ETERNALLY grateful to my awesome mom for that.

justice-i have to say, i'm not sure i get it exactly... i'm not super tech-oriented. explain to me whats the deal with the widget?

mrs. v-thank you for the well wishes. i'm so excited! nothing like a little supplementary income, right?

Amanda Villagómez said...

I really do like your pocket idea. That sounds so easy, especially since you write the name of the absent students right on there. I was just picturing you putting extra copies of all the handouts for anyone who needed it. I love the idea of just putting in copies of those who are absent because then it won't be very cluttered.

teach people not books said...

yeah, and then it becomes the student's responsibility to retrieve any papers and/or assignments when they return. super easy. this measure of accountability is especially crucial for 8th graders moving into h.s., but important at every grade level. go for it! try it out and let me know how it works for you.