8:00 a.m.: I get a buzz from the office telling me that my guests are here. Gulp, deep breath. Up the hallway to get them.
8:00-8:45 a.m.: I show them my room. They take pictures. They look over my class library, the "extra" book bins, and my personal library. (You remember that discussion from an earlier post.) They ask questions about what kinds of books would supplement the curriculum (mainly social studies, like types of government and things like geography skills--landforms, map skills, etc.), what the children enjoy reading, and how my ordering has changed this year (I have several more boys than girls this year!). I also tell them about my schedule, and how today is not a normal Thursday because we are usually reviewing for a comprehension quiz and doing other activities. (If you've been reading, we are still catching up from three delays/snow days in three weeks.) So I explain that we will be finishing the first of two comparison stories for the end of our reading theme, doing our mid-year review of grammar skills, completing Daily Edit, having read aloud (during snack time), finishing writing projects (you know, the one that should have been done LAST WEEK!), and centers for those who are finished with the writing projects. There were no skills groups this week because the data wasn't compiled yet (We just got that this afternoon.). I also explained the independent reading program, which they really seemed to like.
8:45-11:00 a.m.: The students come in, get unpacked, and begin morning work. After announcements at 9:00, we are off and running. See above list of things that I planned to do with the class. We did them all, except for the Independent Reading; that's after first recess.
11:00-11:15 a.m.: Recess
11:15-11:45 a.m.: Independent Reading--The students' routine after recess is to put their things away, get their book, find a spot, and get reading. They did that. I put on the music (We are currently listening to Duke Ellington's "Far East Suite".), grabbed my Kindle, and got reading. About 10 minutes before the end of the period, I call students to their seats to fill out their independent reading logs and response sheet for today. Then we get ready for lunch.
11:50 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Lunch. The representatives eat with us in the lounge and talk to the other teachers who join us over the staggered lunch times (Grades K-3). We are treated to Atlanta Bread Company, which is along the same lines as Panera Bread. (I think they are owned by the same company. There are just too many similarities.)
12:20-12:35 p.m.: The children open a package that contain what I think was every book from the most recent Scholastic catalog. (When the box was delivered--and hidden until today--the packing label said it weighed 31 pounds.) There are sets of things and books on every topic: 39 Clues, Junie B., Geronimo Stilton, National Geographic readers, the Black Lagoon, Dairy of a Wimpy Kid, Babysitter's club, Music Fairies, and Flat Stanley. There are BFF books, animal books, sports books, reference books, classic stories, math stories, grammar/phonics books, and so many others. (After school I had to rearrange my bins in the class library because I couldn't fit everything with the old configuration. And I still have books left over to give to my students.)
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| These are the books that were in the box. I tried to spread them out, but I ran out of room on the table. |
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| These are the extra books. I already have these in the library, so I told the children I would take out the duplicates and pass them out for the students to keep. |
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| My bins are now turned to fit in the new sets of books. Those that weren't in sets are in the blue bins here, in the green "extras" bins on the shelves, on the shelf waiting rotation, or in my personal library waiting for the corresponding unit to be introduced. |
12:35-1:15 p.m.: I drop my students off at library, then go back and finish up with the reps, answering any extra questions and such.
Throughout the day, they took notes on what I was doing and took pictures of the students working. They are going to take this information and create a video to be shared with the other staff members at Scholastic. Some of the same pictures will be used in a slideshow of all of the new members this year to be shown when we are in New York next month. (I just hope my hair wasn't sticking up too badly from the static in the air today! I also secretly pray that they didn't get back on the road and think they made a mistake!) You know what I mean: You have so many neat things you do that you can't possible do all in one day (or one subject, necessarily), so you worry that you haven't done "enough" to show how brilliant a teacher you are. Or maybe that's just my neuroses speaking right now!
Overall, they said they enjoyed my classroom organization and decorations, my students were organized and well-mannered (and no, I didn't bribe them or threaten them before the reps came), and thought I was creative. That's good, right? Right?
So now I'm one step closer to New York.
Breathe...
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