I have been dying to share this incredibly cute/funny story with all of you! Our district uses the Everyday Math curriculum. For those of you not familiar with EDM, the curriculum incorporates tons of Math games to support student learning. I have a SMARTboard in my room so I make sure that whenever I am introducing an new online game, I use the SMARTboard so that all students can watch and participate instead of working with two students at a time to teach it to them on the computer.
So, the class was divided into two groups. We were playing basketball addition and students had to add up the three numbers appearing on the dice and enter in the sum and press 'ok'. So my kiddos were getting acquainted with touching the numbers and hitting 'ok' many of them would enter the number and wait awkwardly for about 3 seconds before the audience will tell him/her what to press next. One of my students with a severe visual impairment was up at the board and could not find the button to push after entering in the number. After a few seconds everyone else was yelling what sounded like "press ock, press ock". Baffled, I looked at my TA trying to see if he knew what they were talking about. Then I looked back at the board and realized my students were looking at 'ok' and sounding it out...which is why what they said sounded like 'ock'!!!!
I smiled form ear to ear and even chuckled outloud. I then explained to the class that what it actually says is 'ok' but they were not buying it. It also did not help my case much that it was not written like 'okay' or 'o.k.', as I feel it should have been.
When I told this to my non-teacher friends, they did not really see what the big deal was. However, seeing as though my bilingual students are going into their first 4 weeks ever of reading instruction in English, I am sooooo PROUD to see my kiddos applying the appropriate letter sounds to what they are reading!!!
Showing posts with label student stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label student stories. Show all posts
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Watch What You Say
So here’s a funny story…today was hat day/crazy hair day at the middle school. Most of the boys wore hats and the girls wore crazy hair. It took incredible control for me not to ask each person who passed me with a hat on to take it off…guess it’s the teacher in me! Anyway, my Language Arts noticed one of the girls in our 1st hour class looking sad. She asked her if everything was alright and told her to smile because the week was almost over. My CT then took a glance at her hair and said, way to show your school spirit for Crazy Hair Day! I’m not even gonna lie, it did look pretty darn crazy! After getting a stone cold look from the girl, my CT asked “You did your hair like that for Crazy Hair Day, right?” The now furious student replied “No, I did NOT do my hair like this for Crazy Hair Day” and stormed off. Lesson learned: never make a comment about a student’s hair if you do not know for sure the reason it was styled that way!!!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
We Don't Know Everything
So, this past Thursday and Friday I went back to my 5th grade class for Parent/Teacher Conferences. After all of the intensity that built up from stories from other teachers and student teachers, I very relieved to to find that none of the horror stories came to fruition. I enjoyed meeting the parents of the kids that I spent so much time with. Most of the parents that came in were totally concerned about how their students were doing in our class. They were eager to find out what they could do at home to help their student academically and/or behaviorally. Of course, the parents of the 2-3 students that we absolutely needed to meet with face to face did not show up. We even tried to contact them for a phone conference, but still no luck. I guess we'll keep trying with them.
Throughout my student teaching experience so far, I have been amazed at how much can be going on with a student and you never know until they or someone else tells you. An example of this is a student named "Cory" in my class. He is a sweet, hard working kid that is the lowest performing student in reading and math in my class. My CT and I have been mystified as to why he does not receive any special education services....he is that far behind. We still don't know why he was never recommended for testing, but during conferences we found out from his mom that a very devastating event happened in his family 3 years ago....his father was brutally murdered. This would put Cory in 2nd grade. From what his mom says, he never really grieved...just held it all inside. My heart aches thinking about how hard it must be for him every day knowing that his father was taken away from him. His 3rd and 4th grade years were spent moving from school to school. In spite of all of the chaos he's had in his life these last few years, he is focused, respectful, and determined to do his best. If we could give A's for work ethic, this kid would have a report card full of them!!! Even with all of the things going on in his life, he never showed it. Every day I see him I make sure to give him an extra hug and an extra word of encouragement....his strength pushes me to give my best- always!
Throughout my student teaching experience so far, I have been amazed at how much can be going on with a student and you never know until they or someone else tells you. An example of this is a student named "Cory" in my class. He is a sweet, hard working kid that is the lowest performing student in reading and math in my class. My CT and I have been mystified as to why he does not receive any special education services....he is that far behind. We still don't know why he was never recommended for testing, but during conferences we found out from his mom that a very devastating event happened in his family 3 years ago....his father was brutally murdered. This would put Cory in 2nd grade. From what his mom says, he never really grieved...just held it all inside. My heart aches thinking about how hard it must be for him every day knowing that his father was taken away from him. His 3rd and 4th grade years were spent moving from school to school. In spite of all of the chaos he's had in his life these last few years, he is focused, respectful, and determined to do his best. If we could give A's for work ethic, this kid would have a report card full of them!!! Even with all of the things going on in his life, he never showed it. Every day I see him I make sure to give him an extra hug and an extra word of encouragement....his strength pushes me to give my best- always!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sticks and Stones
Something happened today that was one of the most hilarious yet saddening events of my life!! In the afterschool program, the other student teacher and I had devised a plan for splitting up the rather large group of students. I think I spoke to this in a previous post, but for whatever reason, the students never want to be in my room. I honestly think it is because of my no-nonsense approach to classroom management. If you are doing what you should be doing, we will have the best time, but if you are not it won’t be that way at all. If you can’t show me that you can handle the responsibility that comes with being a 5th grader, than you cannot enjoy the things that responsible and respectful 5th graders enjoy.
Back to the story…so we came up with a plan so that the students that were with me one week would rotate to Miss S’s room and her students would then rotate to my room. We put them on a 1 week rotation so we wouldn’t have to worry about students asking us everyday if they could be in her room; everyone would get there chance.
Well today was the day that our classes were supposed to rotate. Before we left to go down to the classrooms, the coordinator of the program came to us with a “revised” class list that he created. He wanted to split certain students up and also to put an end to the ingenious rotation plan we created. As soon as he said that, Miss. S and I knew that this was going to get real ugly!!! So we had my CT, who also works in the program, announce the changes. We didn’t want to have anything to do with it! She is a tell-it-like-it-is kind of lady, so she wasn’t to concerned about their reactions. She called one group of students, the ones that would be in my classroom to line up at the door. Then she struck the knock-out blow….she told them they would all be in MY classroom!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! You would’ve thought they found out they were being shipped to the moon! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such long faces before in my life!! So while the students in my room were in deep mourning, the students in Miss. S’s room were having the celebration of their lives. They were bragging to my kids like they just swept the opposing team in the NCAA Championships!! INCREDIBLE!!! This was hilarious, but I’m not gonna lie, I felt kind of sad too! The reaction that these kids had to being in my classroom; the huffing, puffing, and stomping down the hallway along with comments like “I don’t want to be in your room”, “Man, I’m not coming back to this program if I have to be with her!!” in addition to a few tears, really made me feel bad. I have never said a mean or cruel word to these students, so to hear these comments dished to me, I was hurt.
I have high expectations for my students…end of story. I wish they didn’t dread being in my room, but it is what it is. They know that when they come into my room, though, that I am totally committed to making sure they understand the content, become more responsible and are socially and emotionally well. If this happens to exclude them liking me, oh well. It has really taken me 7 weeks to utter those words and actually mean it. I still get sad when I hear the discontent some feel, but at the end of the day, I know that I my goal is to give them what they need. Their words may hurt sometimes, but as long as they don’t start throwing sticks and stones at me, I’ll be good!
Back to the story…so we came up with a plan so that the students that were with me one week would rotate to Miss S’s room and her students would then rotate to my room. We put them on a 1 week rotation so we wouldn’t have to worry about students asking us everyday if they could be in her room; everyone would get there chance.
Well today was the day that our classes were supposed to rotate. Before we left to go down to the classrooms, the coordinator of the program came to us with a “revised” class list that he created. He wanted to split certain students up and also to put an end to the ingenious rotation plan we created. As soon as he said that, Miss. S and I knew that this was going to get real ugly!!! So we had my CT, who also works in the program, announce the changes. We didn’t want to have anything to do with it! She is a tell-it-like-it-is kind of lady, so she wasn’t to concerned about their reactions. She called one group of students, the ones that would be in my classroom to line up at the door. Then she struck the knock-out blow….she told them they would all be in MY classroom!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! You would’ve thought they found out they were being shipped to the moon! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such long faces before in my life!! So while the students in my room were in deep mourning, the students in Miss. S’s room were having the celebration of their lives. They were bragging to my kids like they just swept the opposing team in the NCAA Championships!! INCREDIBLE!!! This was hilarious, but I’m not gonna lie, I felt kind of sad too! The reaction that these kids had to being in my classroom; the huffing, puffing, and stomping down the hallway along with comments like “I don’t want to be in your room”, “Man, I’m not coming back to this program if I have to be with her!!” in addition to a few tears, really made me feel bad. I have never said a mean or cruel word to these students, so to hear these comments dished to me, I was hurt.
I have high expectations for my students…end of story. I wish they didn’t dread being in my room, but it is what it is. They know that when they come into my room, though, that I am totally committed to making sure they understand the content, become more responsible and are socially and emotionally well. If this happens to exclude them liking me, oh well. It has really taken me 7 weeks to utter those words and actually mean it. I still get sad when I hear the discontent some feel, but at the end of the day, I know that I my goal is to give them what they need. Their words may hurt sometimes, but as long as they don’t start throwing sticks and stones at me, I’ll be good!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Finders Keepers
I feel like many of my posts are focused on the challenges of teaching…so I’m going to add a touch of comic relief!
This actually happened to me a couple of weeks ago, but it is so hilarious that it warrants being posted for the world to read. In our guided reading, our class was reading a story called “The Pumpkin Box”. The character in the book liked to dig for things and one day he dug and found a time capsule. My students were to think about a time when they found something (relating their personal experiences back to the text). One student said they remember when they found a toy that they had lost. Another student remembered when she found her mom’s keys. And then there was “Daniel”!! Daniel explains a time when he found….wait for it….a BILLION dollar bill!!! So, of course, my CT and I thought did not really focus too much on this because clearly he didn’t find a BILLION dollar bill. But that was his story and he was most certainly sticking to it!!
Daniel said that he found the BILLION dollar bill outside somewhere (he forgot where) and he gave it to his principal. By the time he got to this point in the story, the entire class was in an uproar- “You’re telling a fib because there’s no such thing as a BILLION dollar bill!!!”, “You must mean a MILLION dollar bill!” My CT and I tried to get him to fess up about the validity of his story, but he was about as adamant as someone who was telling the truth!! If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve believed him!!!
So when things in the classroom get tough, think about how much easier your life would be if you were the one who received a BILLION dollar gift from a student!!! I don’ know about you, but I’ve got my fingers crossed!! Who needs the Lottery when you can have a BILLION dollar bill!!
This actually happened to me a couple of weeks ago, but it is so hilarious that it warrants being posted for the world to read. In our guided reading, our class was reading a story called “The Pumpkin Box”. The character in the book liked to dig for things and one day he dug and found a time capsule. My students were to think about a time when they found something (relating their personal experiences back to the text). One student said they remember when they found a toy that they had lost. Another student remembered when she found her mom’s keys. And then there was “Daniel”!! Daniel explains a time when he found….wait for it….a BILLION dollar bill!!! So, of course, my CT and I thought did not really focus too much on this because clearly he didn’t find a BILLION dollar bill. But that was his story and he was most certainly sticking to it!!
Daniel said that he found the BILLION dollar bill outside somewhere (he forgot where) and he gave it to his principal. By the time he got to this point in the story, the entire class was in an uproar- “You’re telling a fib because there’s no such thing as a BILLION dollar bill!!!”, “You must mean a MILLION dollar bill!” My CT and I tried to get him to fess up about the validity of his story, but he was about as adamant as someone who was telling the truth!! If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve believed him!!!
So when things in the classroom get tough, think about how much easier your life would be if you were the one who received a BILLION dollar gift from a student!!! I don’ know about you, but I’ve got my fingers crossed!! Who needs the Lottery when you can have a BILLION dollar bill!!
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