Post date: Aug 26, 2017 2:53:40 AM
Dear Room 25 Families,
Week two is done, although I missed part of it while my family delivered two kids to Willamette University in Oregon. Elizabeth Lewis worked in room 25 for the two days I was gone and did a good job keeping the schedule on target. The class and I are still figuring each other out and overall they seem to be working well together. I'm still concerned about the duality of the class; there's a productive, cooperative, and attentive faction that comprises about two thirds of the class, but there's also a large enough contingent of kids who require repeated (!!!) requests and constant monitoring. The 8-ish kids I'm talking about seem to be immune to the usual strategies I've utilized so far to change their behavior through discussion, reason, and empathy. So I'll be stepping up the consequence game next week and limiting the freedoms of those who aren't attentive and productive. It's been many years since I've had to get into this mode, but I'm not without a robust toolbox of behavior-changing consequences. I'm just determined not to let the loud and attention-hungry drown out the others and set the class climate.
Recap of the Week:
Through a variety of activities and assignments, I'm getting to know more and more about these kids, and they about each other. Each kid contributed to the "Aspects of Us" spreadsheet and a "Learn Lots, Be Good, Have Fun" document. They should have also created the pre-write and outline of their "My Name" essay and a few of the kids have also done their "Me in a Bag" presentation. They also learned about flaws in flat maps and then marked up a big US map. The class also did some fun improvisation games one two afternoons, but again, following directions, and being a low-profile audience member seemed impossible for some... many, actually. Next week we will get to know a bit more about the workings of science, the amazing cultures of Native Americans, and write & revise & finalize the name essay.
Upcoming Academic Routins: With our first days under our belt, I feel that we are ready to start adding some more academic endeavors and routines into our days. Although the teamwork- and creativity-building activities need to continue, the daily routines from now on will focus on the specifics of science, history, and English.
The following 3 routines will continue all year:
1. This week we started the current events routine, wherein each kid is responsible for running a table-wide conversation on a specified day of the week. They should read an article of personal (and hopefully group interest) the evening before their day, summarize the article they chose, and have discussion questions written out. During class they will educate their group and engage them in great discussion for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. The weekly "curiosity slide" process asks the kids to document a topic of personal interest, stating what they know and what they wonder about that topic. They will do this process once per week, and delve into one of those areas in much detail about once every five weeks. My goal is to foster a very strong sense of curiosity about very diverse aspects of the world and to hone their observation and questioning skills.
3. The vocabulary process will involve a variety of types of activities all year and this coming week we'll start with a process that my students and I refined well last year. I'm hoping that the kids will develop a love and/or appreciation for words and try to expand their repertoire all year and beyond.
Although the information is still from last year, this rough map of our curriculum for the year provides general direction but also allows individual exploration into areas of interest, and as we progress through the year, I'm sure we'll make changes as needed/requested.
Parent Presentations (link)
As I've mentioned, I would like parents or other adults to come to class for about an hour sometime in before October, to teach/demonstrate/do something with the class. Many parents have already come up with great ideas and when the rest of your talents, resources, and creativity are added to the list, the class and I will get a set of experiences unavailable anywhere else. I'm being a bit forward about this because I really believe that this is the type of thing that should happen at a place like DCS, and because, honestly, I don't think that I have the repertoire of lessons and activities to fill every day of the month with the caliber of great, diverse, novel, and important stuff that we as a collective group can. Plus, the planning and in-class time can count towards your classroom hours or serve as credit for those times when you can't come or just want a week off!
Class Jobs (link) & Meeting (link)
On Monday, August 28 we will have our first class meeting from 6:30 to 8:00. We'll meet out near the stage with all 3 classes, then you'll spend about an hour in our homeroom and 15 minutes with Mr. Dowling and 15 minutes with Ms Malouf. During our time together we can discuss class-specific issues, talk about field trips, and create a draft list of which of you would like which of the classroom jobs. Many of the jobs are not tied to a specific day and time but we do have to make sure that everyone contributes and in a way that best fits your schedule and preferences as well as the kids' and my needs. As you may already know, there are four main classroom workshift jobs that I'm proposing, but they are a bit unconventional. Below is a chart that describes the most common jobs:
Upcoming Events (subject to change):
-August 26 (Saturday): International Potluck 4:00 to 7:00
-August 28 (Monday): Parent meeting 6:30 to 8:00 (all 8th grade by stage then to homerooms)
-September 4: (Monday) No School (Labor Day)
-September 6: (Wednesday) Buddy classes start (we're with Jimmy Kim's 5th grade class)
-September 19 (Tuesday) Parent 101 at DCS (7 to 9)
-September 14 (Thursday): Picture Day
-September 22 (Friday): Teacher Learning Day (no school for kids)
-September 23 & 24: 8th grade camping trip
-October 2 (Monday): Selective & Parent Workshifts start
-October 16 (Monday): Room 25 to Henry Cowell Redwoods and Mount Hermon Ropes Course
-October 13 (Friday): Middle School Dance
-October 20 (Friday): Teacher Learning Day (no school for kids)... and Amy's birthday!
-October 21 (Saturday): Fall Festival
-October 23-31: Fall conferences
-November 10 (Friday): Veteran's Day (no school)