Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory. ~Mohandas Gandhi.
One of the highlights of my day is welcoming the students into the building in the morning. I meet them, holding open the front door, to greet them and start their day off with a smile. Well, this morning was no exception! After the three day weekend, students were eager to get back to school. They were smiling coming in the doors and were happily exchanging pleasantries with one another. Many students entered the school “arms wide-open” stopping to hug me. A little guy in first grade paused to ask me how I enjoyed my President’s Day and if I had a good weekend. I assured him that indeed I had, but was glad to get back to school. Mornings like this one convince me that I truly do have the best job in the world.
Speaking of the weekend, I read an excellent article this past weekend that framed the task ahead of us to prepare our students to be 21st century learners. In the article, Tony Wagner cited survival skills our 21st century learners need: critical thinking, problem solving, the ability to collaborate across networks and lead by influence, agility, adaptability, initiative, entrepreneurialism, effective oral and written communication, the ability to access and analyze information, curiosity, and imagination. I plan to share the article at our next staff meeting to launch a discussion on how we are fostering these essential skills within our classrooms and school learning environment.
After greeting the students, morning announcements, and a walk-through of the building to check in with staff, it was time to meet with the second grade guided reading groups. I had prepared to have them reread a book that we had listened to online last week – White Socks Only – (www.storyline.com). Well, at the end of last week, I had shared the lesson with a teacher. This morning, the teacher asked me to use the books. So, I did the only thing that I could do, and I gave her the books and “punted” as teachers have to do from time to time. Instead of rereading the story in pairs, I decided to have the students listen once again to the story. However, this time they would work in pairs on a laptop. This would prepare them for our lesson on story elements with a focus on plot. This proved to be quite the adventure on the laptops since a few “bugs” have entered our system’s network over the past week. Needless to say, the site wouldn’t load (on any of the computers) and we went to plan “c” – Taking turns rereading a hard copy of the text. I explained to the children that it is always helpful to have an alternate plan, especially when technology is involved. It is not a question of if something will go wrong, it is when. Therefore, if you are prepared with a back-up plan, things will work out fine. We concluded the lesson with a review on story elements and Thursday when we meet we will be mapping out the plot on the SmartBoard. They will definitely take pleasure in that part! If you haven’t checked out Read, Write, Think, take a moment to peruse the site at (www.readwritethink.org) It is an excellent web site affiliated with NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) and offers a wealth of engaging and interactive activities.
Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day as our fourth grade “lunch bunch” resumes. We will be reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid III. This time, we have close to 60 students who volunteered their lunch time to read, up from 40 the last time. Again, I am thrilled with the number of boys participating in the book share. It will be challenging to keep them engaged, but I have some engaging activities mapped out for the next few weeks. A few of the fourth grade teachers are going to join us this time around. I am certain they will find the time worthwhile.
The next few weeks will be CRAZY due to the fact that third and final evaluations of nontenured staff are taking place as well as annual summative evaluations. I feel stretched pretty thin right now, but the reward of teaching and learning with the staff and students is certainly worth whatever it takes.
Giving it a grand effort,
Anastasia
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