Notes from the Class of 2022

Thank You!

2010-03-30T20:21:00.001-07:00

This is a thank you my kids put together to thank those who have been generous enough to donate books and money for books to our classroom.

Dr. Seuss' Birthday

2010-03-30T20:02:00.001-07:00

In an effort to reach out to us from the office more, our principal came in to read a Dr. Seuss classic to us for Read Across America.

If you notice the extra chairs at the back of the room, we had potential funders of TFA visit us that day as well. They watched us track our progress on our class charts and saw some of math.

Reader's Workshop Projects

2010-03-30T19:55:00.001-07:00

Students take the opportunity to present their reader's workshop projects to their families at family dinner. During family dinner, families come in the evening and bring food potluck style to eat together in the classroom.

Circuits in Science

2010-03-30T19:50:00.001-07:00

Look at the awesome circuit we made from junk lying around our classroom!

Kid Quotes

2010-01-06T18:40:00.001-08:00

CR: "You look like a biker chick when you wear your jacket

AB: "Ms. V you tell me...if a book is all about one person, it's boring, you have made only a little connections but lame ones...would you abandon it?"

Playing Scrabble Slam...RG: "That is bad juju right there. That was the worst card in the deck!"

YB went home last night and asked her family more information about a tiny little story we read in class. Gotta love it!

Reading Literature

2009-11-20T10:05:00.001-08:00

Watching one of Ms. Wright's students ask MC how to set up a reading study on American presidents during war time. This is what all 4th graders deserve to be doing. 

Staying innocent

2009-10-23T08:18:00.001-07:00

We are listening to a Dora The Explorer song (Bate, Bate, Chocolate) during morning work. The song was requested by MC. I love that my kids this year aren't jaded and trying to act older than they are. 

Love my nerds...

2009-10-13T11:25:00.001-07:00

GB: "Can I take my book to recess?"
Me: "Absolutely"
GB: With a fist pump and a grin..."yessssssssss"

Conferences

2009-10-01T18:05:00.001-07:00

One of my kid's parents just cried during our conference talking about her middle school aged son. Why did she cry? She is terrified that our middle school isn't challenging her son and isn't preparing him to be successful. 

Who exactly are the parents in low-income communities who don't care and aren't invested in the education of their children that I always hear talking heads blame? I haven't really met many. 

2009-09-29T11:56:00.001-07:00

Sad. During Recess Reading, JB has decided to sit in MP's desk. He is moving on Friday and I think he will sorely miss who we all think to be his crush. 

2009-09-29T11:54:00.001-07:00

I have turned my kids into nerds. Many of them now opt out of recess to come into the classroom and read. Love it. 

Growing pains

2009-09-11T12:43:00.001-07:00

Our kids have been growing their own plants for the last two weeks. They have been controlling the variables (water, sun, etc). The results have been hilarious. We have bone dry cups and cups with floating soil. 

After they assess how their experiments have been going, we will be planting new plants. 

Hilarious. 

Spanish vs. English

2009-09-10T10:40:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we read a book about a family returning to Mexico for a visit. A lot of my students really connected with it. 

As I was writing back to YG's journal today, I noticed that she had written something inspired by the book. It was about how some of the people in her family always tease her or pick on her until she'll say something in English. Her teacher last year was also known to talk about how Spanish was "not what we use here." 

I feel so sad for my kids who are taught not to appreciate their native language. Knowing another language is so wonderful. 

Needless to say, I wrote back to her in Spanish. She beamed. 

Reader's Workshop

2009-08-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ms. Wright's planning, my kids read and write in the workshop style. There is an article today about workshop in NYTimes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/books/30reading.html

Camoflauge and Mimicry Museum

2009-08-27T14:31:00.001-07:00

We are studying animals this unit in science. Today is camo and mimicry day. To start this out, we are having a gallery walk in the classroom. Classical music is playing and there is a no talking rule as they peruse the "animal art" and take notes on how the animals are hiding and hypothesizing as to why they might be hiding. 

Admission is free if you're interested :) 

Sick..booo

2009-08-24T17:12:00.001-07:00

I am home sick ALREADY! I was planning on trying not to miss nearly as many days as last year as a year two "vet." So much for that.

I had great reports about the kiddies today. They make me so proud! I have to thank my superstar TFA colleagues for taking on a few extra kids for the day as I didn't realize I was sick early enough this morning to get a sub. I don't know what I would do without all of their support. Half of my kids got to return to their 3rd or 2nd grade teachers which was a lot of fun for them. The majority went to Ms. Wright's class which is AWESOME as our classes are essentially identical so they didn't miss a thing!

YG called right after school to "check on me" and see if I would be at school tomorrow. She told me she would bring me soup if I would please come to school. I love them.

Even more books on my doorstep!

2009-08-21T20:10:00.001-07:00

I cannot thank everyone enough!

PARTAY!

2009-08-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

My class earned their first party today by earning compliments around campus.

The first party was a milk and cookies party that turned into a dance party extravaganza. We did the cha cha slide, cupid shuffle, and the electric slide. My kids have rhythm. I think they were shocked to learn their teacher actually does too.

LIBROS!

2009-08-21T08:07:00.001-07:00

The kids are BEYOND excited that the first batch of biographies from my grandma came today.

Teachable moment...

2009-08-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

One of our crickets has decided that today is a perfect day to molt. This is rather convenient for us teachers. What better way to describe an arthropod as a creature whose skeleton is OUTSIDE of their body. Currently, this cricket's skeleton is located about 5 inches away from the rest of his white, squishiness.

Now THAT is an EXOskeleton!

My kids are...freaked, excited, grossed out, confused.

Job: Cricket Wrestler

2009-08-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

We are learning about animals in Science. More specifically, vertebrates vs. invertebrates. Even more specifically, today we are talking about how arthropods are different than other invertebrates.

Clearly, this means that I needed to bring in crickets and worms today for our scientists to observe. Mom was nice enough to make a Petsmart run last night and Ms. Wright and I had the lovely job of wrestling crickets into separate containers for each of our classes. The worms are just chillin' (literally) in the fridge.

I am a teacher.

Journals

2009-08-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

My kids write in their journals each night for homework and once a week I collect them and respond. It is great to learn about what is going on in their lives and it allows you to gently correct errors in their writing by modeling correct things in your responses. At the same time, some of the things they write are terribly sad or troubling.

I wish doing well in school was the only thing these babes had to worry about.

Not a way to start the morning...

2009-08-18T07:31:00.002-07:00

KH, a student from last year, came into my room and started telling me about school life in his non-TFA 5th grade classroom. They copy everything the teacher say all day. They do worksheets. His classmates are "losing their integrity" (one of our class values) because their teacher doesn't care what they do as long as their work is done. They don't get a chance to read "real" books. All they do for reading is recite passages over and over again. He misses book club and asked if he could borrow some of my books.

This is what they have to look forward to when they leave me at the end of the year?

2009-08-17T12:34:00.001-07:00

Putting Michael Jackson into any lesson plan these days equals INSTANT engagement. 

Michael Jackson's record sales provide great numbers for working in the millions. 

2009-08-17T09:12:00.001-07:00

I have official notice of my first donation of 20 books off of the Class of 2022 Wish List on amazon.com!!

Thank you so much, Professor Reiley! 

The first district reading test results

2009-08-16T18:50:00.001-07:00

My first district reading test results show that all but 4 of my kids are on a 4th grade level at the BEGINNING of 4th grade. My challenge this year will be to push them even farther.

What a great responsibility.

And people say kids don't like to read and don't care about history...

2009-08-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

I started allowing my kids to start checking books out of our classroom library this week. The most popular books turned out to be kid friendly biographies.

The absolute favorites come from the "Who Was" series.

RW, my class librarian, is going to be busy, busy, busy with this class!

Growing Our Brains

2009-08-16T17:32:00.000-07:00

On Friday of the first week, we talked about our goals for the year and what we will need to do to accomplish them. One important thing we discussed is how we all have different brains that need different things to grow. After making a list of the things we would do over the course of this year to grow our brain, we grew sponge "brains" in cups.

My 4th graders took the small capsules that turn into sponge shapes and added knowledge and hard work to them (aka warm water). The knowledge and hard work magically morphed their 3rd grade brains (aka 99 cent expandable capsules) into end of year 4th grade brains.

After, the kids attached their grown "brains" to a note card they wrote all about their brains. Many of them included gems like, "I LOVE my brain!"

Probably the best part of this project is what Ms. Wright and I had to go through to pull it off. Buying the capsules was cheap and easy, getting the warm water at school...not so easy. Thankfully, I have befriended the cafeteria manager who was nice enough to boil some water for us. We then had to transport this pot of hot water to our classrooms across campus. Naturally we looked for a cart with wheels...what we weren't anticipating was that there would be a SHOPPING cart in our front office. We pushed the pot over every crack in the sidewalk to our classroom. Of course, our principal had to come out and look at us like we were nuts.

Oh, the things we do for our kids.

P.S. That is a certified awesome school polo I am rockin'

Welcome to Room 13 now home of the Class of 2022

2009-08-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

I am back in action in Room 13 for year two of my Teach For America commitment. I currently have 17 students and am super excited to attack year 2 with all of the experience I gained from last year.

Something much different from my class last year is that the majority of my students are on grade level. Having had 2 Teach For America teachers before me seems to have really helped my students be prepared for the 4th grade. I still have my outliers that I need to address, but I am very much looking forward to pushing this year's students ABOVE grade level rather than helping to catch them up to grade level.

I hope you will check in to follow our adventure!

The most important thing I've taught this year...

2009-05-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

JL wrote me a card today. The most important and special part of the card to me...

"Thank you for teaching me how to behave. Thank you for teaching me to care about other people."

That's all the significant gains I need right there.

2009-03-31T10:14:00.001-07:00

While doing AIMS review....

LO: "Man! When did we learn all this stuff?! I'm so smart."

KH: "Duh, Ms. V did it."

2009-03-31T10:13:00.001-07:00

It's AIMS time. This means...

Admin is in a panic.
The announcements stress the importance of AIMS.
The stress from everywhere else stresses out the students.
Teachers are either super stressed or have decided not to care.
AIMS = Chaos.

2009-03-31T10:12:00.001-07:00

Our Field Trip to The University of Arizona...

http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2009/02/23/News/Potential.class.Of.2021.Visits.Ua-3643190.shtml

2009-02-12T11:42:00.001-08:00

JF: "He has really great ideas for writing."

Even JM couldn't help but smile hearing another student say something positive him.

One of the only picture of AE before she left :(

2009-02-11T21:34:00.001-08:00

Spirit Week

2009-02-11T21:32:00.001-08:00

LS and JF

PM, KH, LO, SH, JF

KH and his Magnificent (<-- his fave vocab word) 'fro

2009-02-11T21:29:00.001-08:00

The Dynamic Duo

2009-02-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

KH is a perfectionist with a big smile and an even bigger heart. The boy who was more used to getting a referral than a good grade now beats himself up if he gets anything less than 80%.
PM only wants to hang out with people with the "Go Far Values" and stays after schools to sharpen pencils every day.
These two are the reason I get out of bed on mornings when I feel like this experience has become a little too much or a little too hard on my heart. It's quite the privilege to call them my kids.

(They decided that for reader's workshop they should both read The Rats of NIMH 1) "because it is a great text-text connection with Mouse on a Motorcycle" and 2) "they would get more out of it by, you know, talking about it")

Science Gallery Walk

2009-02-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

Here, my students are studying tools used to measure various aspects of the weather. It happened to be a windy, chilly day in Phoenix so I had them do it outside. We don't experience "weather" here too often."

2009-02-03T09:07:00.001-08:00

After studying fact and opinion today..

"Our teacher is the best!"

PM: "I don't care what anyone says...that's a fact!"

"Well, where are the parents?"

2009-01-29T18:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had a Reading Night for parents to provide parents with strategies to promote reading at home for their children. Turn out wasn't great, but some very dedicated parents dragged themselves in after a full day of work.

I found myself very choked up as we had parents go through some of the reading tests their children are expected to complete at school. Clearly there was quite the barrier for the Spanish-speaking parents, but I found that many English speaking parents also struggled with reading.

I hear so often that the parents don't help at home and they just expect teachers to do all of the work...what about those parents who want so badly to be able to help and just feel helpless?

1 appreciation and 1 helpful tip

2009-01-28T20:24:00.001-08:00

Sianna drew my name...

"I appreciate Ms. V because she works so, so hard for us. Um, I think my one thing for her to work on would be organization. She loses stuff in here a lot."

Truer words were never spoken.

While writing the bell work on the board...

2009-01-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

Keyvohn didn't finish writing all of his vocab flashcards for homework so he came in early to finish them up. After closing his book, he got a rather pensive look on his face...

Ms. V: "What's up, dude?"
Keyvohn: "Ms. V, I never used to like school."
Ms. V: "Well what do you think changed?"
Keyvohn: "You. You changed everything. Well, bye! I have to go play before the bell rings"

2009-01-20T09:07:00.001-08:00

Watching the presidential inauguration. My kids are beyond excited and can't believe how many people fit in D.C.

Winter Break winds down...

2009-01-01T16:55:00.000-08:00

I have done my best to relax over break, but I can't help but think about my kids. Sometimes these reflections make me smile and other times they make me cry. It's hard to balance celebrating what you are doing well and fighting to always give your kids more of whatever it is that they individually need.

I have decided to change a few things and have mapped out the rest of the year. Things still aren't perfect, but I'm excited to get back to Room 13. I love being surrounded by all of my college bound students.

2008-12-19T10:06:00.001-08:00

Today, I had pep talks with all of my students before we did their timed reading test (1 minute to read a passage). I set goals far beyond the norm for each child and they almost all met them.

SS surpassed her goal and LO increased so much that we had to put her tracking pin on the wall and off the chart. I didn't make a chart with high enough numbers!

2008-12-19T10:04:00.001-08:00

In perfect Friendly Letter format, JR wrote the following to me today:

                                       December 19, 2008

Dear Ms. V,
   You are the best teacher I have ever had. In fact your the only teacher that makes all subject very easy and this is the first present I ever gave to a teacher. Your the special one. I never told you this ever but I respect everything you do and make. Your the one who taut (this word is circled with an sp next to it...an editing skill we learned) me how to wright a letter.
                                    Your Friend,
                                          JR
P.S. Merry Christmas! I will miss you. Sniff. Sniff.

2008-12-18T08:53:00.001-08:00

MP's Letter Home:

Dear Mom,
To let you know, I been doing good on reading, math, and social studies. I got to work on writing and writing my spelling letters. Guess what...I finished my first story!!! I been doing good on my attitude, integrity, sense of possibility, plus exhibit discipline. I been learning a lot from my teacher. I love you mom and thats all I need to let you know.

Your son,
MP

P.S. I'm proud of finishing my frist story!!

2008-12-18T07:50:00.001-08:00

KH's letter to his family:

Dear Family,
I am doing good in math like long division, order of operation, input and output and I do all the steps Ms. V teaches for them. I have a little trouble with compare fraction, least to greatest, and greatest to least. What I am not having trouble with in fractions is improper to mixed number, add and subtract, and simplify. What I used to have trouble with in reading is cause + effect and drawing conclusions. I mostly had trouble because of my bad attitude in all my subjects when I thought something was gonna be hard. It's not my teachers fault it's my fault. But my teacher is fun because she makes up dances to help us learn things, she lets us buy pillows to read on and lets us buy lunch with her. She makes funny jokes, vocab games, play bizz buzz for math and gives us multiplcation songs. She is fun. I'm learning.

From: KH

2008-12-18T07:42:00.001-08:00

JL's Letter to her Family for Parent-Teacher Conferences:

Dear Family,

I have been doing so well in school because I follow directions the first time. I remember the first week I came back to school that Ms. Valenzuela had to call you and tell you that I was not being good. I have learned so much from Ms. Valenzuela when I have a good additude.
From,
JL

2008-12-16T08:27:00.001-08:00

While playing a memory game on holiday vocabulary words:

KH: "We aren't doing too well. We really need to kick it up a notch! Hey, that's an idiom. It means to step it up! Oh, shoot. That's another idiom."

2008-12-16T07:10:00.001-08:00

Ms. Wright: "Ms. V, this is from Eddie. He's too embarrassed to give it to you (hands me a necklace with a little jingle bell wearing a santa hat on it). I'll have you know he only had enough money to buy one and so he bought one for you."

We think I officially have a 3rd grade admirer. These are the moments that make teaching hilarious.

2008-12-15T18:47:00.001-08:00

"Ms. V fractions are crazy! I'll never look at a pizza the same way again." KH

2008-12-15T18:45:00.001-08:00

AZ: "We're not having Christmas this year. We don't have enough money. But as long as I have my parents' love then that's more than enough for me"

Beautiful, beautiful child.

2008-12-11T19:51:00.001-08:00

Truer words were never spoken:

Superintendents, parents and teachers in urban school districts lament systemic problems they cannot control: poverty, hunger, violence and negligent parents. They bicker over small improvements such as class size and curriculum, like diplomats touring a refugee camp and talking about the need for nicer curtains. To the extent they intervene at all, politicians respond by either throwing more money at the problem (if they're on the left) or making it easier for some parents to send their kids to private schools (if they're on the right).

Meanwhile, millions of students left behind in confused classrooms spend another day learning nothing (TIME Magazine)

2008-12-11T13:50:00.001-08:00

Things that break your heart as a teacher:

Dear, Ms. V
I love you as a mom but I now you are not my mom. I thank about you every day in my life. I see you in my dearms a lot. Ms. V I love you so much. You feel like my mom. I see you like my mom. You do stuffs for me. I love you like my mom. Will you be my friend for ever? Can you teach me to do stuff like the other kids?
I thank you for being my teacher.

SM

2008-12-11T09:02:00.001-08:00

My kids decided that they wanted to write a list of things they liked about reading. Here are a few things from their lists:

LO: I like making predictions on stickies and finding out after we read if we were right or not. It's like a surprise!

OC: I like book club. Clubs are just always fun and this one is with books!

KH: Book Club. I like book club because I could discuss it with people and get better at my fluency. It makes me feel so happy because it's the first time I've ever been able to do it. I love it! I just hope the students next year will love it too!

KH2: Drawing Conclusions. I have a little trouble with it. But if I keep studying I will get a 100 or an 80. Last time I only got a 75 percent, but that was a big increase from the time before.

MP: I really like reading Number the Stars as a class. We get to make a lot of predictions and the book is very exciting. We never know what is going to happen next!

PM: I really like both of my book club books. The twits and the Mouse on the Motorcycle.

SH: I liked cause & effect BECAUSE it tells you the clue words THEN when you see them in a book or sentence you will remember cause & effect! (she's a witty one!)

2008-12-11T07:38:00.001-08:00

Ms. V: "KH you need to relax and enjoy the morning, my friend"

KH: "It's just that I'm so excited to come to school. I've never been this excited to come to school before!"

2008-12-10T13:44:00.001-08:00

"Every Tuesday I get the butterflies because it's Book Club day!" - KH

2008-12-10T07:29:00.001-08:00

Math benchmark testing today...

It's hard to walk around and watch your kids make mistakes on the things you have taught them. This, however, is cancelled out when you see KH or SH using EVERY step you have taught them on their scratch paper.

2008-12-08T07:11:00.001-08:00

One of my students has been dealing with some issues at home for the past week or so. I have been very worried about how this might start affecting him academically.

Today things became worse for my young friend...a cousin died over the weekend in an accidental shooting in the home. After telling me about this, my student still got right to filling in his agenda and doing his bell work.

The strength my students exhibit continues to amaze me.

2008-12-05T11:02:00.001-08:00

On the way to lunch bunch today, my kids were telling me how happy they are that I can be mean, but mostly I make things fun.

I asked if they were sure that they were learning and the assured me they were.

Later while we're eating...

"That test had a part in it that said 'stop and think." I went ahead and wrote metacognition next to it." - KH

"See, Ms. V, we're learning." -OC

2008-11-24T09:18:00.001-08:00

Our school has been raising money over the past few weeks with a cookie dough sale. My class, being the eager folks that they are, sold the most in the whole school.

What does this mean for Ms. V? During the BMX celebration show today, I was jumped over by a man on a bike THREE different times.

Being a teacher is an interesting job, my friends.

2008-11-17T12:12:00.001-08:00

1st day of introducing writer's workshop. Writing is a whole new world for my kids. They LOVE the activities we are starting to do.

MM: "I really like this kind of writing, Ms. V"

JM: "I've never come up with this many ideas before!!"

Great success! BIG thanks to my ASU professor.

2008-11-14T13:47:00.001-08:00

JL: "I appreciate Ms. V for teaching me how to say 'pizza' during lunch bunch today"

2008-11-14T11:07:00.001-08:00

Some of my Hispanic students have issues saying "pizza." It usually comes out as "peak-sa".

Today, J.L. FINALLY said it properly after I explained to her that it is pronounced like the Pete's in Pete's Fish n chips plus "a."

"Pete's+a"

2008-11-12T10:56:00.001-08:00

First round of book club just ended today. It was a great success. Some of my kids were VERY invested in book club.

It is so wonderful to see my kids excited about reading and carrying their books around with them.

My ASU adviser came in to observe book club and was very pleased with where we are. It was awesome to have someone else see how cheesy my kids are and how much they try to apply what we learn in class to their book club books.

Fostering student love of reading...awesome.

2008-11-07T11:10:00.001-08:00

Started a new tracking system today on top of tracking individual assessments. Students now have a list of allllll of the AZ standards (they didn't realize there were so many) and they check off when I teach it and whether or not they "rocked it!"

It seems to be quite the investment tool.

2008-11-06T17:06:00.001-08:00

The Long Division Dance was a HIT!

Divide up!
Multiply down!
Subtract
Drop it like it's hot
Start again.

It would make a lot more sense with the lovely motions that go with it. :)

2008-11-06T08:25:00.001-08:00

Trying a new approach to spelling with JM. Tomorrow is his first test. Cross your fingers!

Big Goal Check...

2008-10-29T21:08:00.001-07:00

Monday was a sad day for Room 13...we did not come close to meeting our 80% goal on our math and reading assessments last Friday. College Bound Students of 2021 are quite upset and very determined to ace poetry this week.

They don't know this at the moment, but our current OVERALL class mastery for the year so far in reading is at 77%. Our big goal is 80% average class mastery.

Work Hard, Go Far, Woot, Woot!

At least I taught that well...?

2008-10-29T20:43:00.001-07:00

Ms. V: "You all are driving me bananas"

K.H.: "Ms. V, that's an idiom!!!" (with a big, proud smile)

I couldn't really stay mad after that.

It's a love/hate thing

2008-10-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, J.M. told me he hated me and that he wished he had never been moved into my class.

Today, J.M. was my best friend and worked really hard in class. He received a 100% on his math assessment and tore it up in reading comprehension.

I'm hoping for many more days like today for J.M.

BIG Day

2008-10-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

Achievements to Report:
- J.R. increased her reading score by 36 words this week
- J.M. increased his reading score by 13 words this week
- S.M. increased her reading score by 9 words this week. She then ran across the grass over to room 8 yelling, "Ms. Vagan (aka Ms. Fagan)! Ms. Vagan! 9 words better on the 4th grade reading!!!! 9 words!"

Some of my kids rocked 4-digit by 2-digit multiplication! We were only supposed to get to 3-digit by 2-digit, but a few of them really studied at home and wanted a challenge.

Good way to end the week.

4th Graders are Awkward

2008-10-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have decided that 4th grade is one crazy year these days. Hormones are kicking in at that age now. Kids are maturing but are still incredibly immature. They are seriously little walking paradoxes.

4th Graders:
- fart during read alouds
- start complaining about school work
- shout out Ms. V for creating all of the activities for centers
- play a tag-like game on the playground that involves stealing other people's shoes
- cry looking at pictures and reading poetry from Angel Island
- ask why baby penguins come out of their father's butts
- ask if they can write letters to a fellow teacher in Houston who was affected by Hurricane Ike
- hang on you and give you a million hugs a day
- start trying to slip words like "crap" and "damn" into conversation (though,let's be honest, I have a few who slip really choice words)

I could go on for days. It really makes me wonder what I was like as a 4th grader.

Slipping through the cracks part 2

2008-10-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

It seems as though one of my students will be moving down to 3rd grade. They are 8 years old in the 4th grade and do not know the alphabet. How this wonderful child ended up in a 4th grade class is astonishing.

The very interesting thing is is that they had a very good teacher last year who fought hard as his advocate and yet he was still passed on and is still not getting the services he needs.

It's a shame.

Disincentives and Special Ed

2008-10-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

Today I finally learned just how some of my students have slipped through the cracks without substantial intervention or a referral to special education...paperwork and bureaucratic hoops.

The checklist to even have a student looked at for services is a mile long and the packet teachers have to fill out is ridiculous.

With the secretarial type paperwork, student worksheets, lesson planning, grading, and a million other things...the current system appears to act as a disincentive for many teachers.

Random: I don't deal with white people

2008-10-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

A classic event that I can't allow myself to forget:

2nd week of school...
Upper grades playground...

I see a 6th grade student wearing a huge lip ring and ask her to take it out and put it somewhere safe. She says to me, "don't talk to me." I tell her that I am just trying to keep her from getting a referral and that I am a teacher and she needs to show some respect. This is where the kicker came..."Psh, I don't deal with white people."

We had a lovely walk together straight to the office and I had one serious story to add to my book as a new teacher.

Teach For America has a few sessions during our summer training that discusses issues and situations similar to the one above. My instructor said to us a few times, "you'll just never know how you're going to react or how something like that might make you feel until it happens." She was definitely right. I wasn't really upset or anything, but it definitely left me a bit shocked and perplexed.

W-O-R-K

2008-10-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

Today was S.M.'s first day of both reading and writing in Ms. Fagan's room. When she came back, she was really excited and her pride in herself definitely carried over into math.

At the end of the day, S.M. decided to give her shout out to Ms. Fagan for teaching her how to read. A few of my students asked her to show us what she had learned. She stood at the front of the class and immediately clammed up. My class cheered her on and M.P. shouted out, "Come on! We're family here!." With that, S.M. showed us how to segment and blend the word "work."

It was a wonderful to see a student getting exactly what she needed and to know that my class supports her 100%.

Quotes

2008-10-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

"Ms. V, why do baby penguins come out of the dad penguin's butts?"

- J.L. while learning about invertebrates and vertebrates

REAL books

2008-10-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

Many people these days talk about school curriculum and how it "ties teacher's hands." I have to say, I don't really mind the reading curriculum and think that it breaks down reading skills quite well. I have been pretty faithful to my reading curriculum and have simply just had to add my own flair to it.

The one thing reading curriculum simply can't provide is that love of reading a book that I developed in elementary school. I reflected on that a bit and decided that it was time to introduce REAL books (you know ones that are longer than a few pages and have storylines that suck you in) to the Class of 2021.

I went to the library and found that there are shelves and shelves of untouched, wonderful class sets of books.

I chose three books -- one for each of my leveled groups -- and marched back to class with them. My students were SO excited by the new books that were "just for them." I can't wait to let them dive into these literary delights. There is nothing like curling up with a book under your desk or in the bean bag chair...I hope they learn to love it as much as I do.

Our first books:

The Twits

Pigs Might Fly

Farewell to Manzanar

S.M. Heads to 2nd Grade

2008-10-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

S.M. came to school 4 weeks into the quarter. S.M. was quick to tell me how "stupid" she is because she can't read. After asking about her past a bit, I figured out that she had missed rather large portions of the 2nd and 3rd grades.

My response to her "stupid" comments: "Would you call a 2 year old stupid because they can't tie their shoes? No, they just haven't had the chance to learn yet."

After having 5 weeks to work with SM myself and assess exactly where she is, I decided to introduce her to Ms. Kate Fagan today...a phenomenal 2nd grade TFA teacher at my school.

Upon meeting the blonde, cheery, 23 year old Ms. Fagan, SM jumped back and looked terrified. I was used to this reaction from SM when it came to strangers, but it was a sad shock for Ms. F. Some kids don't get to grow thinking that adults aren't going to hurt them.

After the shaky intro, SM finally accepted that Ms. Fagan had a pretty sweet gig going on in her room and definitely had something to offer SM in the reading department. SM now goes to 2nd grade in Room 8 for reading and writing every day.

Someone might think it degrading for a 4th grader to go into a 2nd grade class...SM finds it simply exciting that she might just learn how to read.

Goals

2008-10-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

After an entire quarter, I finally managed to get my Big Goals up on the wall with tracking charts and everything.

As a Teach For America teacher, these Big Goals are a big deal. What is a big goal you might ask? These are the goals I want my class to be meeting in order to show me that they have mastered the state standards I have been teaching. 80% on each standard is the typical ambitious goal that TFA recommends.

Our Goals:
1. We will score an average of 80% on all of our reading assessments.
2. We will score an average of 80% on all of our math assessments.
3. We will read 118 words per minute.

Individually, we set different goals for different students depending on where they are academically. The 80% average as a class allows everyone to work to help raise the class average even if they are not reaching the 80% individually. This is very important in a class that has some students on the 4th grade level and others on the pre-K level.

Introduction to the Class of 2021

2008-10-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

This blog will track the trials, successes, challenges, memorable quotes, and funny stories of my class of 20 amazing 4th grade students.

The Class of 2021 resides in Room 13 of a low-performing, low SES elementary school in South Phoenix.

I am creating this blog mostly for the selfish reason of not wanting to forget the amazing things that happen in Room 13. To respect my scholars, I won't be using any of their actual names in the blog.

Before I introduce anything else, I must teach you the class song. My students clap and chant the following at the start and end of every school day (and if I forget or try to skip it I face fierce opposition):

Room 13's the class that has the kids who want to learn to build a better tomorrow!
Give me a beat!
You gotta learn, baby, learn.
You gotta learn, baby, learn.
The more you learn,
The more you know.
Knowledge is power,
Power is freedom
And I want it!
You gotta learn, baby, learn.
You gotta learn, baby, learn.

Work hard, go far WOOT!WOOT!

As I am starting this blog one quarter into the year, some random stories that I think of from time to time will be thrown in out of order. These posts will be titled, "Random" -- go figure!