"Come on in. The water is fine."

While re-reading my very first blog entry, I remembered that scared/excited feeling I had when school first began. Honestly, I was really scared to death. Before school began, I felt as though I were standing on a deserted beach at the water's edge. As I looked out over the water, I could see a Tsunami wave heading right toward me. That first day of school, I braced myself for the impact; instead, I found that the water eased me into its swells. At times, I have had to swim hard, fighting for every breath. At other times, I have become lighter and more buoyant as I am lifted up by the successes of my students. As certain as I was that teaching was the right transition for me, I was still afraid of the unknown. This first semester as a teacher has been tough in conjunction with my UAM requirements, but I do feel as though I have grown. As this first semester nears its end, I am thankful for the experiences I have been allowed thus far. Each one has brought me a bit closer to being the teacher I really want to be for the kids. That is encouraging because my greatest desire as a teacher is to be effective and provide a dynamic, challenging, safe environment in which students exceed not only mine - but their own expectations. Although I cannot say I have achieved the "truly effective teacher" status, I can safely say there is no Tsunami wave crashing through my classroom. What I will say is, "Come on in. The water is fine."

Get Off The Fence About Verb Tense!

With W.6.8.6 ~verb conjugation~ looming before me a couple of weeks ago, my stomach was in knots. You see, all my life I have straddled the fence when it come to knowing my verb tenses. It's like I never really nailed it down. Well, with verb conjugation in my rear view mirror, I have one question for you...What would you like to know about verbs? Ha ha! I am officially off the proverbial fence! The SIMPLE truth is that everything is PERFECT when you remain PROGRESSIVE about verb tense; I am EMPHATIC about it! :) So, let's take a look at the words I just shouted at you in the last sentence: SIMPLE, PERFECT, PROGRESSIVE, and EMPHATIC...the verb tense families. Simple past, simple present, simple future, past perfect, present perfect, future perfect, past progressive, present progressive, future progressive, past emphatic, and present emphatic are securely in my bag of literacy tools. The most significant detail about that week of lessons...my students tested very well. I have decided there is hardly a sweeter sound in the world than a scantron sheet whisking silently through a scantron machine! I wanted to share this game with you; however, I was unable to upload the game into one of the available gadgets in this blog. If you would like to have a copy of this game (I also have one for Figurative Language and Sentence Structure) just email me at kim.mcfarland4@gmail.com. I would be glad to shoot a copy your way.

I'll take "Blog Project" for $500. Let's see... the answer is "AWESOME!!!!" To that I say, "What is ~How do you feel when you make your last blog entry? :)

D.E.A.R. time!!

Drop Everything And Read! Those are our instructions every day at specific times. On November 5th, Crossett Middle School adopted the D.E.A.R program. Every day at a pre-appointed time, the following announcement is made over the intercom: "It's time to drop everything and read." Every day the teachers, students, custodians, principal, vice principals, counselors, resource staff, office workers...EVERYONE stops what they are doing and picks up a book for 20 minutes. I love it! The schedule is as follows: Monday 8:50 to 9:10, Tuesday 9:40 to 10:00, Wednesday 10:55 to 11:15, Thursday 12:50 to 1:10, and Friday 2:05 to 2:25. I love reading, and this is huge for our kids. The more the students read, the better their reading skills become. Great readers are usually great writers, so this is a combination for achievement and success! I am excited that our school makes reading a top priority. :)

Character Day

The faculty and students at Crossett Middle School participated in our first annual Character Day on November 5th. Almost every teacher participated. The students were shocked to see so many of the teachers dressed-up in elaborate costumes. Among the teachers was a queen, a princess, Juliet, Medusa, King Henry VIII, Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, a chimney sweep from Mary Poppins, Little Red Riding Hood, Thelma from Scooby Doo, The Wicked Witch, and many more. Several of my students dressed up. They were so cute! My class had their final exam on the book The Outsiders that day. In honor of that book, I dressed-up as a Greaser Girl. I spent the day with a bouffant hair-do, black leather jacket, 60s style sunglasses, black capris, black pumps, and RED lipstick. I used the best Greaser Girl attitude I could muster. Ha ha. My students seemed to have had a blast making fun of me. It was a lot of fun. Periodically throughout the day, three students from each grade level made their way around to each of the teachers to judge for the "Student Favorite." At the afternoon assembly in the auditorium, the three teachers that were judged "Student Favorites" were invited to the stage and given candy. There were judges present from the Educational Alliance, The Rotary Club, and other civic organizations to vote on the students' best character costumes. The first place student winner received candy and their name on a huge trophy that will sit proudly in our CMS showcase in the foyer all year. In conclusion, Character Day generated some welcomed school spirit and a great Literacy buzz about books! We are hoping next year will be even bigger!

What Are You Reading Good?

My school district has provided me the unique opportunity to participate in the Smart Step Literacy Lab Classroom Project, a professional development opportunity for teachers of grades 4 - 12. It is based upon current research that supports educational pedagogy. Literacy Lab is a compliment to a standards based curriculum, not a prescribed curriculum, and it requires a two-year commitment. It consists of seven days of training each year. Both years are broken into three days of training in the summer and two days of training in both the fall and spring. I have already attended the three day summer session which I enjoyed very much. Crossett School District gave me $600 to build my classroom library this summer. As much as I love books, I was in heaven! My students have been reading those books like crazy! I only wish they had sent another $600 with me this time. I mentioned that to my assistant principal today at the workshop...for some reason, he just gave me 'the look'. :)

This Tuesday and Wednesday (101210 and 101310) I returned to Harding University in Searcy, AR to attend days 4 and 5 of my Beta 2 year. Yesterday consisted of fluency instruction in a reading workshop environment and designing, maintaining and perpetuating classroom libraries. Today consisted of an introduction to Comprehension Strategy Instruction; review of research and identification of the strategies and best practices in teaching; and Gradual Release of Responsibility Model. His workshops are interactive as he encourages input and questions. He makes a point to spend a significant amount of time asking all the teachers his trademark question, "What are you reading good?" He encourages teachers to ask their students this question every day to encourage reading rich conversations. His workshop was very informative, and I can appreciate the fact that he insists he is not teaching anything new but sharing research-based strategies that others have proven true and effective. On our last Saturday class at UAM, I didn't get to tell Dr. Zimmerly this, but I could hear 'Stamatis' in her presentation even before we saw the film of him. I caught up with him at break and actually 'name dropped' and told him that Dr. Zimmerly was my instructor. He knew exactly who I was referring to and was very sweet to take a picture with me. I told him I would include his picture on my blog, and he was happy to do it. Right now, I am reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. What are you reading good?

Broken Hearted

Ok, time to blow off some steam... We are reading The Outsiders in my classes. On Tuesday, the students were given a Character Trait worksheet, on the character Ponyboy, worth 25 points to be completed by Friday of this week. We are covering chapters one through three, and those chapters are full of references to Ponyboy's character. When I gave that assignment, I was thinking, "This will be easy points for these guys." I gave reminders each day and even handed out a couple of extra worksheets to those unorganized students who had misplaced theirs. Luckily for them, I had already decided to let them put finishing touches on their Character Trait worksheets as their bellwork on Friday. I was shocked at their unpreparedness. As I walked around the room during bellwork time, so many students hadn't brought their worksheets AT ALL! I was so tempted to let them just suffer the consequences, but I love them too much and want so badly for them to do well. I just passed out the blank copies to those that didn't have theirs. One student even had the nerve to say, "You expect us to finish this in only 15 minutes?" My response was, "No, I expected you to finish in 3 days. The 'only 15 minutes' part is your fault." Having said all that, my question is this: How does a teacher NOT take it personally when students choose not to complete assignments? It literally hurt my feelings that so many made no attempt to complete the assignment. I don't know. I'm going to either become cold and indifferent, continue with a broken heart, or find some happy medium. Cold and indifferent is not my style. The only way I'm going there is involuntarily. Continuing with a broken heart is taking its toll on me, but I don't know how to reach that happy medium. Until then, I guess I'll just be broken hearted. On the flip side of the coin, am I enabling them to be irresponsible by repeatedly providing 'lost' material? I guess I am having a hard time drawing the proverbial line in the sand regarding my expectations of them. I know this is just a blog, but feel free to offer advice if you have any. I would love to get some feedback on this. Thanks!

Figure That Language!

Metaphors are monsters to come up with! Similes are like butterflies lighting on various objects, loosely linking them together. Alliteration makes my mind mosh modishly through many mantras. Personification rears its ugly head when you least expect it. Assonance makes me aim lazy brain cells mainly at the vowels. Hyperboles are so hard to come up with that it makes my head want to explode! Idioms make me feel as old as the hills. Onomatopoeias ZIP! and ZING! through my head, and all I want to do is to grab some Zs....

So as you can see figurative language really can be fun;

It can make your writings interesting, and they'll shine like the sun!

Your prose can have a lot of flare and even make people smile,

But include a sound device or two if you really want to add style!

~Kim~

"Complex-Compound Throwdown"

Today was a Monday all day long, but when tomorrow rolls around, we are going to do some different activities. We are learning about sentence types this week; the lessons get really tedious when variety is not included. We are learning about complex-compound sentences tomorrow, and after I present my minilesson, we will play Jeopardy. Before we play Jeopardy, we will do a Gallery Walk as a quiz on sentence types, and we will fulfill our Active Learning requirement for MLED 5053. Jeopardy will definitely add a little spice to our sentence differentiation, so after we've played the game, the students should have a clearer understanding. Since we are studying compound-complex sentences tomorrow, I have chosen to write this entire blog using that sentence structure just for fun. Look back and check the sentences; you will find they all fit the format since I was bored with it too. Whenever I get to class tomorrow, I will let my students read this blog, and they will have seen even more examples of complex-compound sentences.

"Braincruching Bloom's"

With a heavy heart I drove all the way home;
Straight home, I tell you, with no time to roam.
So much to do and spread so thin,
No cooking tonight; it's Popeye's again.
I must enter grades and complete lesson plans,
But I must be quick, every second flows the sand.
For UAM calls and nips at my heals.
Will I complete my book talk? Only time will reveal.
I rush the kids through homework and clean up the mess
Of another meal I didn't cook, I must confess.
So I get the kids quiet, sequestered in their rooms;
I must get relief from this impending doom.
I must get finished on what has begun;
Braincrunching Blooms is a load of... fun. :)
But wait just a minute, and you will see,
It's not the book I'm poking fun at, it is me.
Trying to find this balance between family, work, and school
Is starting to turn my brain to mush and from my mouth, drool.
But there's no better feeling under the sun
Than turning that 11pm project in at 10:51!
Good night, farewell, au revoir, auf vedasane...
Here's to hoping the next 4 hours of sleep will help keep me sane.
And enter another day where the sun shall rise
If God is willing and the creek doesn't rise.
As we march once again into the land of kids
Where we hope just one will flip their lid
And come to understand a concept or two
Don't forget to apply, analyze, and evaluate too!

"Shorty start a fire on the dancefloor"

Point of view (POV) is fairly straightforward to teach by definition; analyzing a text and determining point of view is not always easy. My students were doing fairly well comprehending POV, but I needed an activity to strengthen clarity.

Thursday morning I set my alarm for 4 A.M because I had promised my students we would do a role playing activity to practice POV determination. I created four skits: "The Pirate" (Third Person Omniscient), "The Teacher"(First Person), "The Rodeo" (Third Person Limited Omniscient), and "The Dance" (Third Person Limited Omniscient). The students loved the activity! The bold ones had the opportunity to express themselves through drama, and the shy ones had the opportunity to laugh shamelessly at them. The following is the script to "The Dance". The real CMS "Welcome Back to School Dance" is September 23rd. The theme of the back to school dance this year is to dress like a nerd. I thought this would be a fun way to link learning to a true life event:

"The Dance"

Narrator: Chris picked Denisha up for their date. After a short ride, they arrived at Crossett Middle School for the "Welcome Back to School Dance". Out on the dance floor Denisha was thinking, "Chris is rocking that nerd outfit!" Denisha says to her friend,

Denisha: "I've got a feeling...that tonight's going to be a good night...that tonight's going to be a good, good night."

Narrator: Standing with his buddies at the edge of the dance floor, Chris smiles back at Denisha. He's standing there in his high water pants, pencils in his shirt pocket, suspenders, and black rimmed glasses held together with tape at the bridge of his nose. While watching Denisha dance, Chris says to his buddies,

Chris: "Someone call 911...Shorty start a fire on the dance floor."

The skits were a hit! The boisterous bunch bellowed brazenly as the brave boys and girls boldly blared their blurbs. The students cackled with laughter, and of course, there were many that broke out into different refrains of each of the two songs quoted in our skit. Triumphantly, the students were able to tell me that this skit was written in third person limited omniscient since only Denisha's mind was read. It made for a really fun day!

Monday on a Tuesday

Wow! As long as the teacher is juggling, introducing, and overviewing, the students are entertained and their brains remain in neutral. Challenge them with tasks and terms like 'rough draft', 'revision', and 'third person limited omniscient' and they morph into a big herd of deer frozen in the bright glare of headlights. Those kids - I love them in spite of themselves and in spite of myself. Yesterday was tough. I learned the joys of picture day; how the students faces looked as though they had won the lottery when the first letter of their last names were called to go to the cafeteria. I remember. I was once an eighth grader. Picture day, fire drills, tornado drills: all mini lottery wins. Kids are so funny. Yesterday I laughed in one class and wrote a referral in the next. Another adventure... Monday on a Tuesday.

Feels Like Home

Finally finished, I looked around the room and decided that I was pleased with what I saw. The blue and brown sheers I had hung in the back of the room had softened the starkness of the white cinder block walls. The double bookcases centerpieced between the curtains were full of books from every genre. The sheer blue scarf draped lazily around the window to the right of the classroom library offered a pop of color in the corner; the miniblind pulled all the way up as an invitation to the sun. In front of the curtains on each side of the bookshelves sat comfy chairs with pillows for readers to cozily transport themselves into untold adventures. Covering the walls were bright colors and encouraging quotes challenging my young charges to follow their dreams and believe in themselves. On the whiteboard to my left were objectives written in careful hand, promising to challenge young minds. I could hear the soft tunes of Third Day extolling the favors of the Lord. The cool vanilla-scented air in the room made me feel comfortable and welcomed, and I knew I was home. Then, the bell rang, and I welcomed my first class ever, into my first room ever, to share my first day ever - as a teacher. It was a good day.