I hope you all had a spectacular spring break, and I hope I hear
some crazy stories when I see you all in class this week. I have to be honest…I
was more than ready for this break. I needed it much more than I realized. I
have to be a bit concerned, however, because I know most of my kiddos are not
as excited about getting back to school as I
am and therefore are expected to act up a bit during the first couple of days
of school.
When I left school on the 15th my CT simply told
me to be prepared for the students to be rowdy, and to go over procedures as
much as possible. I honestly don’t know what procedures to go over except the
CHAMPS posters and restroom passes. I also don’t remember my teachers ever
going over procedures with my classes after each and every break when I was
growing up. I can see the benefits, but I feel that all the teachers are going to
be going over CHAMPS and procedures for hall behavior etc. etc. tomorrow, and
by the time I get my 8th grade honors language arts kiddos they will
have been so bored with all these procedures and rules that they’re going to
act up even more.
Is it foolish to begin classes with a few group building
exercises and games? I could get class started with those, and then move on to
procedures. I’m just nervous because the kids will be super rowdy. I might do
procedures and rules first and then do some fun little games to reconnect and
build relationships.
Update on my nonsense with the novel and spiral notebooks:
My principal told me he would provide the notebooks for the
kids who did not bring them!! This was so nice to hear and a huge relief because
now my CT won’t have to spend any money of her own for the notebooks and the
kids will all have full size notebooks to write in instead of half mini notebooks.
Also, we found the perfect spot for the para that refused to be in our room
while we read the novel. I had her pick her own novel that dealt with
propaganda and communism, and she loved the idea of running her own little
class with our two girls who will not be reading the novel with us. It’s kinda
funny how it all worked out J
So glad to hear that your principal supported your use of writers notebooks, Denisse. This is perfect for your Writing Instruction Presentation. I can't wait to hear all about it (and see you teach)!! Keep up the great work!
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