Martin Luther King Jr. [Positive/Negative Art]

Once a year, a strange thing happens, a blog that I no longer write on starts to get a crazy amount of 'traffic'.  And that traffic is thanks to pinterest, and one art project that I'm insanely proud of, and can't wait to do with my students next Tuesday!  Some of this post is a "re-share" from my previous thoughts on this project, and I will make sure to share this year's results in their full glory sometime after the holiday, plus I've added a few new links to help you create your own Martins.

Inspiration: In my third year of teaching I walked into a teacher's classroom and she had a beautiful bulletin board celebrating MLK's life and achievements. Now at this point, five years later,  I cannot even remember what exactly her art looked like, but it inspired me to create a project of my own. I had been strangely entranced by positive/negative space art and was determined to develop a classroom project around the concept.  I have taught this lesson with both 5th and 6th grade classes, but I have seen even 2nd and 3rd grade teachers successfully create their Martins following the same lesson.

Now, I may be a tad challenged when it comes to this concept of positive/negative space art, but from reading a few other posts that have since tried the project with their own classes, they all agree - PRACTICE and make a few examples before guiding a class through the process.  Here are a few more tips and tricks I found from many years of practice.

This website was the only one that helped me understand how to create this style of art. See it here. 

Every year I like to change the written piece that corresponds to the art.  My first year they created their own "I Have a Dream" speeches, and then we aged regular old construction paper to look 'authentic'.  Here is an image of the original Martins in all their glory!

Last year I played around with personification and my students wrote a poem personifying EQUALITY.  Man, did they really run with this idea, even though I must admit, I knew they could do it, but I really hadn't mapped out exactly where their poems may go.  And, in true 'poetry teacher' fashion, they far exceeded all expectations.  Read more here about their personification poems, and find a basic lesson on how to teach it.

Here's one example (they conveniently forgot to put their name on the front of the paper, which dinged them a couple of points because that was a project expectation, but hey, it works well for blog example purposes).

This year we just completed a whole school 'booster day' on the positive behavior support system we have on campus, and part of the history lesson that day was teaching about assumptions.  They wrote a personal poem about assumptions they have experienced in their own lives, and I'm thinking that we may take these drafts and connect them to Martin Luther King Jr., because let's face it, so much of racism comes from assumption, so I think it may be the perfect fit for this group of students. 

Finally, I wanted to share a resource that Nicole from Teaching with Style created to share with fellow teachers[I'm not sure why the images on her blog no longer come up with this link - sorry!].  I am so happy that she has done this, because let's face it, I was always an 'inspiration' teacher blogger, never organized enough to be uploading google docs and such, but wow, are we lucky that there are teachers out there who do!  So thanks again Nicole for finding my project, and spreading the love.  Here is the free link to the outline you will need to create Martins of your very own, all you will need is the construction paper! 

And just one more thing, I get pretty excited this time of year when I see the enthusiasm for this project, or when I stumble on others having successes in their own rooms.
Here are a few of the images I found of other bulletin boards created from this project:
Cortez's Corner
Borrowing the Best...and Making the Rest

If you create your own Martins using inspiration from this lesson - PLEASE comment below, I would love to compile and share these projects being created across the country!

Also, you can see how this project inspired a woman from across the globe with her country's own influential figure.  See her project here!

year seven, check

Year seven has officially come to a close.  This year I consider myself to be one of the lucky teachers. This year I did not get pink slipped, this year I am not moving schools, or classrooms, or grades. This year I have been able to teach a lesson and reflect daily on how I will do it better next year. This year I got to enjoy my last days of school with my students I worked so hard to get ready for seventh grade, and they've put the work in too. This year I said goodbye to my students for two months, knowing I will see them again in August. This year my students said goodbye knowing where to find me in the future, even after I'm no longer their teacher. This year, taking down the projects from the walls did not make me sad, because this year, it didn't mean the end of another job, with no idea of what's next.  This year I challenged myself to teach gifted students, and this year my successes were clear. This year I worked longer hours than I hoped, but I can say I'm proud of the hours I put in. This year I learned a little more of balancing teaching, and mothering, and wifing (if we can make up words for artistic reasons). This year I found a home that I can see myself being in for the long haul. This year I started to settle into room four, a room I hope to see my kids come back to years down the road to share with me their successes and joys in life.

Last week I had two high school girls walk right past me as they entered my classroom after school, coming to visit the teacher who had been there before me. They stood in the middle of my room asking themselves where their former teacher was.  I explained the room was mine now, they looked surprised, and very sad to not see their former teacher. And so, this is the year I realized I'm starting the next little legacy at this school. And I couldn't be any luckier. 

This year was pretty amazing for so many reasons.  Here are just a few moments that made me smile in my seventh year of teaching.

I look forward to two entire months of freedom.  Two months of recharging and spending every minute with that little girl of mine.  And best of all, when I think of next year, I have so many exciting ventures to look forward to.  Year eight will also be great, and that makes me the luckiest.

Come see what I've been doing outside of the classroom over at Olive Everly Blog!

April fools...

Teaching middle school is really just begging for a good April fool's joke. My kids tried a few on me, with little success. I think my attempt for my last class was just what we needed to end this crazy, rainy Tuesday. I told my last group of students that I made them something special for always being awesome.  The first group who was cleaned up for the day got the first peek at their brown-es.

I think I got a few of them. And yes, I had to explain it to some. Since I only tried it with my last period no one had spoiled it for them, and they were even able to get a few kids from other classes after the bell rung for the day.  I had at least ten students in my room after school looking for the leftover brownies.  It was fun, and I will surely do it again next year!

Religion poetry anthologies - and my room turned in to a coffee shop

Yesterday my students brought to school their religion poetry anthologies. We have been working on this project for about a month as we learned about four major world religions in history. Before officially assigning this massive project, I started the kids off by writing a different type of poetry for each chapter we studied. When planning the unit I relied heavily on my notes in my masters journal from my poetry class, meticulously finding which format would work best with the content.

Here's what we did:

4 acrostic poems on the four influential founders of Judaism

1 memory map poem on Judaism

2 eraser poems, one on the origins if Hinduism and the other on the caste system

1 Hinduism Haiku

1 I Am poem on Prince Siddhartha (Buddha)

1 list poem on the Eightfold Path (Buddhism)

1 two perspective poem on Christianity (from the voice of a Christian and the voice of a Roman)

I collected each draft of their poems, assigned a small point value, and then kept all of their poems until two weeks before the project due date. At this time we went over the official project and assigned due dates for each of the finals to help my students plan and not procrastinate.

This week students were also given class time to create a mandala that represents the idea of religion as a whole. We reviewed our classroom art expectations and used many "real life" mandalas for inspiration. It seemed fitting that an art form founded in Hinduism be used as the visual art piece of the project, and after seeing their work, I think I choose wisely. These are some of the most impressive projects I've ever collected from my kids! 

See my classroom art expectations here.

My students were already familiar with the concept of mandalas because it was the very first project we did this year. However, being a first project meant it was very structured and I was "bossy" with how I wanted them done. (I use this project not only to have the kids define what history is, but really set up classroom expectations for art within our room).  The freedom I allowed with their religion anthology served me well as it allowed their individuality and creativity really shine. 

Now to celebrate their typed, revised, edited version of their eleven poems and a ridiculously striking cover I turned our classroom into a "coffee shop" and we had a poetry read celebration. Now, a few simple tricks will really set the mood for the best day ever.  And no coffee is actually served. 

#1 let the kids bring food, but keep it to the coffee shop theme - doughnuts, muffins, croissants, etc.  We also had one student bring in hot cocoa from Starbucks in their giant travel containers which was an extra special treat for them. 

#2 turn off the fluorescent lights, and bring in a lamp. The change in lighting really sets the mood, and the lamp in my guest room loves being used for once. Yesterday was even overcast, making for a perfect backdrop to our Seattle inspired celebration. 

#3 use technology to create a coffee shop scene. I found an image of the outside of a Starbucks and used airplay with my iPad to display it on the flat screen, and I found another interior Starbucks image to project from my laptop onto the pull down screen. These two little images taken from the internet made it very clear where we were. 

#4 have a special area for the students to read their poetry. I always use my two teaching stools, but you could use anything that is special or different for the kids.
#5 we snap instead of clap. This actually came from one of my students the very first time I attempted this classroom transformation, and it works. It keeps the mood calm, and feels more appropriate for the scene we are setting.


Here are the images I used this year:

source

source

Once the room has been transformed, have the kids pass out their treats, place their anthologies safety under their desk until it is their time to read, and sit back to enjoy a day they will remember from their time in middle school. I do require each student to read a poem of their choosing, and they can read it with another person if so desired. In one class we heard many two perspective poems because those we co-authored, and were understandably easier to present. However, as the readings continued, the comfort level began to rise,  and many who were hesitant to initially read ended up sharing multiple pieces of the poetry they had written. 

We did take a couple mini breaks to clear the trash and get rid of the empty cups, because thanks to Anna Kendrick, empty cups are no longer safe in the classroom. 

See what I'm referring to here. And yes, I love this song, but just not in the classroom, unless we have a reason for it. 

Some kids will get very into this whole experience, and others will read their Haiku poem and quickly return to their seats, but no matter what, we celebrated their hard work, dedication, and pretty amazing poetry with a day. And because my planning was either insane or ingenious, this poetry read just so happened to fall on Valentine's day, which is also the last day of school before our week long break, and apparently was one crazy day on campus. But in our little corner of the school, it was calm, peaceful, and a pretty magical day. 

See my first attempt at this type of celebration here and here.

Poetry anthologies can be great for any concept, especially in history. When I taught 8th grade, we did one for Andrew Jackson, and instead of having a project span 5 chapters, we did it for just one. 

Martin Luther King Jr. - celebration project

It seemed like when I was an elementary teacher there was always time to break away from pacing for a bit to study events that may be tied more to the calendar than state standards. However, in middle school because of the brief time that I see my kids each day, I often struggle to veer from my pacing. But sometimes, you just have to do it. In my third year of teaching I walked into a teacher's classroom and she had a beautiful bulletin board celebrating MLK's life and achievements. Now at this point I can't even remember what exactly her art looked like, but it inspired me to create a project of my own. I had been strangely entranced by positive/negative space art and was determined to develop a classroom project around the concept.

This website was the only one that helped me understand how to create this style of art. See it here. 

I'm blaming being left handed on my slow to get process here. I also learned that making a few examples before teaching the project is also a really good idea. 

So bringing it back to the current school year I decided the morning of to make it a "Martin day" and enjoyed this project with my sixth graders. I still do this project with very guided instruction using my document camera and projector to show each step. This project really tests their listening and spatial reasoning skills, and man do they look impressive hanging around the room. 

This year I decided to change the written piece that I have accompany the project to a personification poem on equality. This last minute project change was a blessing since I had forgotten that I shared this project with a friend of mine, only for me to move into a position that made me those kid's teacher the next year. See more on that here.

I used a personification poem format I learned in a masters class that made the writing manageable for my kids. They have to assign the following information/details to whatever they are personifying, and for us, we used equality as our prompt. Here's a sample outline:

Gender:

Appearance:

Clothing:

Occupation:

Friends:

Family:

Hobbies:

Now you can modify it however you like, and I was very flexible on format and order, as long as they were able to "paint me the picture" clearly, then they were good. (Week 3/4 on our poetry anthology projects and I think I can finally use this saying without the kids freaking out that they are also having to paint a picture for each poem!)

Here's one example (they conveniently forgot to put their name on the front of the paper, which dinged them a couple of points because that was a project expectation, but hey, it works well for blog example purposes).

Because I did this project with my 100+ students we have Martin everywhere, hanging all over our room from baker's twine, and even out in the hallway on a bulletin board. I loved the discussion we had this year about the symbolism behind this project. They talked a lot about how the project doesn't work unless you have equal parts of black and white. Others noticed how to two colors had to work together in order to create his face.  Love the process, the final product, love the discussion we had while creating!

See my first attempt at this project with my 5th graders here.

And see this project inspiring others around the world here.

If you are interested in making the project for yourself, Nicole from Teaching with Style loved the project so much, she has shared her template for her Martin online.  Go check out her blog for the freebie!  FYI, she did this project with 2nd graders, so it really can be done at so many levels!

middle school teacher...

I haven't written about my classroom lately.  This is for many reasons.  This year has been overwhelming, and I find it so hard to even blog my updates on Everly, let alone talk about my work day, that seems to keep getting longer and longer.  However, today was a day that I want to remember.

It was a great day.  And for a very simple reason.  I had a really great day with my kids.  I teach two very different groups of students, one is an accelerated group of amazingly well behaved students, and then my other group is low socio-economic students who have been known to give their teacher's a run for their money.  My "challenging" group has a variety of needs, including 6th graders who are reading at a first grade level.  And guess what, when you cannot read, you typically are not the most attentive student in your middle school history class.

But I've been working hard with this group.  I want them to love history, or at least the history they learn with me.  They are my first group of the day, and I've got energy, and use a "whole body" approach when teaching.  You should see me acting out a hominid hunting scene, by myself, in front of thirty tweens.  Really, it has got to be a funny picture.  But hey, it keeps their attention, so you better believe I have my "man discovering how to make fire" act all lined up for tomorrow.  

Today we were learning about our second hominid group, and it was pretty classic history lesson model.  Read textbook, fill out our interactive notebooks.  We read together, I read a paragraph, and then everyone reads the next one with me.  So the kids who don't speak English aren't singled out, the kids who can't read aren't either, and the one who is having a hard time waking up, well, maybe the loud choral reading gets them what they need.  We were just having fun today.  I wasn't stressed about staying on schedule.  Today we learned about one hominid, and I'm okay with that.  They were engaged, participating, and enjoying the whole thing.  

At one point in the lesson we were circling important details in the photos in our interactive notebook when one student pointed out I had made a crazy smiley face with all of my circles.  And sure enough, I had.  We all laughed about it, and it seems like nothing now that I write about it, but it was something.  One student even said out-loud that "this is the best class ever".

So, what made this so magnificent?  It wasn't some ridiculous new teaching strategy.  It wasn't the fact that I used all of the current buzzwords in my classroom.  Instead, today was the day that I realized I have built a community in my second period.  This is the same group of kids who seems to always have a hard time on campus, never doing the "right thing", but they are enjoying each others company, and they seem to enjoy mine.  They are safe in my room.  They are excited to talk about whatever craziness I'm throwing at them.  They know that they can point out something as silly as a smiley face I accidentally had drawn on the board while being super serious with my hominid notes.  

Today was a good day.  That's it.

ten on ten [september 2013]

yesterday, I tried to write here on my little space

but all of the ideas I had

just couldn't come out quite right

my days have been long, and hard

and I am finding it very challenging to be a very good teacher

and mom, all at the same time
[and wife to a husband I rarely see]

last year, I did my job, but that was about it

this year,  I'm really trying to gain balance

and do everything well

but man, the days are long

today, I tried to find a little beauty

in these days where I am finding the need to prioritize even my minutes

so I picked up my iPhone

and caught this -

-organized purees makes a happy mama-


-ready to ride to work, had to wait a few minutes for the sun to come up-


-love walking in my room to find parent donations-


-someone eats breakfast at school, and it isn't me-


-we try to do this-


-she always steals a carrot out of my lunch-


-feeling very lucky to have acquired a retired teacher's library-

-this bike is going to get me my teen legs back, or maybe early 20's-

-trying to keep this classroom organized, since student teaching, I've struggled with my paper stacks-

-my newest vintage purchase, I bought it because my mom has an identical one-

-everly took a nice nap in her swing this afternoon, and I did this, 

maybe in 18 years I'll get some real "me time"-

joining the ten on ten project with Rebekah today!

p.s. I shared 11 photos, shhh, don't tell

you are now entering a mini meltdown

Hey, remember way back when, like a couple of weeks ago when I said I was ready to go back to work?  Yeah, that lasted a few days.  I have been trying to hang on, but today, I had a meltdown.  The kind of meltdown when you find yourself not only crying in front of your teaching partner, but also your principal.  Thankfully, these two people are amazingly supportive, and get my emotions, but still, not so smooth.  This year feels like my first year of teaching all over again.  Once again, I find myself following in the teaching shoes of a legend at my school, and everything I do and say is compared to that legacy.  Once again, I need to not "rock the boat" and go with the established program, but that can be oh so challenging to do.  I'll be asked if I gave the spelling test today, and I didn't even have spelling on my teaching radar.  Right now I feel like all of my time is being spent in the classroom doing everything but working on my lesson plans.  Between being out of the classroom for district required trainings or professional development, losing prep time assisting teachers on campus roll out the online based assessments I trained them on last week, or trying to figure out how to get almost thirty chaperones cleared and ready for a week long science camp we are attending in October, I never seem to find a single minute to focus on my teaching.

I need to work until 5, or 7, like every day, and mind you, I get to work before 7 in the morning.  But guess what?  I can't do that, because I've got a baby who needs me too, and I want to be with her so bad.  I have now officially pushed my workday so that I literally see the Mr. for five minutes before he is off to work.  And let's not even get into how bad that sucks right now.

I know that I will start to get everything under control.  And that I just need to take things day by day, but I HATE teaching that way.  Next week you ask?  Nope, I have no idea what is coming.  And that was never how I operated, and can't be the way I roll for much longer.  Because teaching one day at a time quickly begins to feel like you are trapped in a drowning car.  Ok, that might be dramatic, but I already explained the tears, didn't I?!?

Thankfully, I have amazing students.  I have a happy and healthy family.  And I am so thankful for these things.  Everything else that is giving me stress hives will just need to wait, and I'll get to it.  Probably not today.  Most likely not tomorrow, but some time.  I'll get to it.

And because I was too busy having an emotional moment in my class this afternoon, I don't have any school related photos to go with this post.  So I'll share a few of Everly's serious face photos I took last week.  Not a bad way to end this post, if I do say so myself.

getting all techy in the classroom

Well, not really, but kind of.  This week I began doing an online based assessment system with my students to replace our outdated, not useful, benchmark tests we have been using for far too many years.  Our district is ramping up for our state standardized testing that will be computer based here in the near future, and wanting to make sure our students were becoming "digitally literate" when it comes to assessment.  I have always been the youngest person on staff, at every single school I've worked at.  Not always the newest, but always the youngest.  And guess what, being born in the 80's means when there is an opening on a tech based committee at school, you are probably going to be asked to take charge.  Besides having to be out of my class one day this week for the training, I had no problem getting on board.  And after today's successful staff training that I led with another teacher, it feels good to be getting back into the swing of being a teacher.  Last year was a blur.  I swear no one even knew I existed, so today, getting to teach teachers felt pretty great.

However, the past two days I've been using the fancy new Chrome Books we got for this testing, and I hurt my back.  No, it wasn't the ounce that these slim little devices weigh, but I clearly twisted and jumped around my classroom trying to help students with connection issues one too many times.  Oh, and I wasn't wearing orthopedic shoes.  This morning I woke up feeling like an old lady, which I find ironic, because tomorrow I turn twenty-nine.  Not old.  In fact, I get to celebrate the last year of my twenties.  The decade that anything goes and you don't have to act too grown up.  Well, clearly I'm ready for thirty, when the time comes, because I technically fit all of the adult criteria, even though I don't quite feel like I do.  I think I'll milk this back issue of mine for one more day so I can get another ride to work in the morning [even though I am really enjoying my bike rides, it does a nightmare to my hair, and I would like to not look like a hot mess on my birthday, just saying].  And for one more year, I'll pretend to be young and crazy, because next year, I'll just be young, and a little less crazy.

working mom [it's all about mindset]

When I went back to work in March, I was NOT ready.  Due to some misinformation from HR, I was originally going to be out until April, and going back a month early just threw me for a loop.  I was emotional, upset, moody, and most of all, did not want to talk about it.  Summer could not come quick enough, and man, I have enjoyed being a stay at home mama.  At the beginning of summer I told the mr. that I wanted to spend every minute with Everly, like, every minute.  However, something strange happened a few weeks back.  I started to think about going back to work, and I didn't have the same reaction as the first time.  I began to realize that I was having a very hard time being a mom, all day long, every single minute.  Sure, the mr. was there in the evenings to help, but guess what, Everly will have her mommy moments, and just need me.  And lately it seemed like those times were happening way more frequently, and it was hard.  Even though Everly is such an amazing baby, I found myself feeling very overwhelmed by it all, and needed to do something else.  The other night I started sweeping outside, and the mr. offered to do it for me.  I politely told him no, I NEEDED to sweep right then, and I NEEDED him to hold Everly.  And so that's what we did.

Sure, there are so many things I am going to miss about being at home with Everly.  But here is the thing, I don't have the option to be a stay at home mom, and if I did, I would probably feel different about things.  But I have to work, so I better make the best of things.  Maybe that's what my brain is doing right now, tricking me, and I'm ok with that.  Your attitude when it comes to life makes such a big difference with everything, big or small.  This week I've been back in the classroom, and my kids come on Thursday.  We are getting back to our routine with Everly, and she is doing great.  Because this girl loves her daddy, and does so amazing with him, especially when it is just the two of them.  So I will share her.  I think if I was always at home he would never get to have the type of relationship with her that I so greatly want for them.  Not to mention, I really do love my career, and I think that is also key.  I will work hard this year to figure out my balance with home and class, be thankful that I am done with my masters, learn to cook healthy dinners for one and a half people, and hopefully get back to blogging some more of my classroom this year.  I really missed not having the passion for posting last school year, it just wasn't in me.  So we will see, I only make half promises.

And on a side note, I won this little treasure today at our professional development.  Thank you pinterest for giving this idea to our leadership team.  I think it may stay in tact on my desk for some time.  It is just TOO pretty!

saying goodbye to another school year [almost]

I can honestly say I am pretty shocked to be saying goodbye to my sixth year of teaching

today was our last friday of the year, and we only have two and a half days more

[I really wish today was the last day - that last days of school are tricky]

with all that has been going on lately, I have neglected to share something awesome

this is the first year, ever, that I have not been laid off

craziness

and even better, I get to stay at my current school site 

[thank goodness, because my commute is about five minutes!]

last week I had a student leave school early to spend the summer in the middle east

and as he said goodbye, he said

"see you next year Mrs. Lewis"

now, that doesn't seem like much, but to know that I have students that I will get to see

me again is pretty amazing

I almost got emotional, almost

so the walls are bare

and stacks of paper are needed to be given back to students

[and a ton of grading too, but we will ignore that for the moment]

and so this year comes to a close

and it has been a weird one to say the least

never before have I left my class for half a year

but having a baby will do that to you

and I really struggled to find my passion in teaching

which was hard, because I really felt like last year I was on an awesome

teaching roll

so I say goodbye to the year, thankful for many things

ready to spend so many hours with my everly

and will do it all over again, next year

ten on ten [may 2013]

ten pictures over ten hours on the tenth of each month

my ten hours were really spread over a very long friday

but hey, it's the weekend, and I'm alright with that

1. e sometimes helps me get ready for work in the morning  2. nothing better than a very clean classroom after open house last night  3. classroom color  4. so, yeah, nothing will keep my pencils in my classroom - I started with 65 pencils a week ago, this is what's left  5. my early mother's day present  6. succulents are doing well  7. decided I deserved an afternoon coffee frappuccino only to find out it was happy hour - double score  8. staff b.b.q. for teacher's appreciation this week [this place was kid heaven]  9. oh yeah, there were chickens there too, and a pony, you get the picture  10. beautiful night, and everly was quite the hit

happy ten on ten everyone

weird week in the classroom

This week I am covering four classes that are not my own regularly while my kids are at science camp.  I've been teaching in three different classrooms and never seem to have what I need. Pretty much chicken with head cut off scenario. But today, well it really takes the cake. I fell. Like pretty bad. In front of my entire class of 7th graders. The good news, at least if I have to make a dramatic fall in the classroom, at least it was in front of my own kids. 

My kids were working on a project and I decided I could get two more posters hung up for open house. Well, apparently not. As I was getting off the chair, I just fell. Went flying towards one of my students, grabbed their desk which I think saved me from actually breaking my ankle. 

Ever wonder how to silence a group of busy teens?  Well I wouldn't suggest this method but it sure did work.  I guess it is not every day you worry that your teacher may have just dropped dead, because from their angle I'm sure that's what it looked like. I squeezed out a shaky "I'm fine" and was thankful I had a few kids there to help me stand up.  So, needless to say I'm happy to be on the sofa with my feet up, because I am starting to realize I hurt just about everything but my head in the fall. Lesson learned, stay off chairs in the classroom, or at least pay attention to what you are doing while up there!  

And because thankfully no one caught this moment of awesomeness on their phone, I will just give you an adorable picture of Everly I caught on my phone over the weekend. Her smile makes me feel better. 

the argument of "too bad, so sad" [and the middle school classroom]

Lately I have really been grappling with the idea of "too bad, so sad" in the classroom.  Being prepared for class and caring are some of the biggest issues I believe in middle school.  Countless students walk into my room with nothing, absolutely nothing, and do not see the issue with it.  If I don't have my binder, you cannot make me turn in homework.  If I do not have my notebook, you cannot make me take notes.  And if I do not have a pencil, well, you pretty much can't get me to do anything.  Elementary school just doesn't have this problem to this magnitude, because, well, they have desks, and stay in one room all day long, etc.  But middle school.  I get you for less than an hour, and then you are off to someone else.  So for those fifty-five minutes, let's get some work done, shall we?  Well, we do for those who are prepared.  But for those who aren't, what do you do?

Before maternity leave, I had a container of sharpened pencils.  I would start the day with 12 or so, and end third period with none.  We tried a check out system, a "you take something, you leave something" system.  But ultimately, I would never be able to stay on top of those darn little yellow things, and they would surely disappear.  Not to mention, the pencil fairy hasn't visited my room lately, so going through 12 pencils a day isn't practical.  Lately, I tell the kids, if they don't have something to write with, they can use one of the old crayons I have out for them.  This works, until I have a project that I really don't want them using a broken, dull, magenta crayon on.  Yesterday, things just about boiled over in my class of 7th graders when, I am not exaggerating, half of my kids did not have a single pencil to use in class.  We are starting a big project that will be displayed for open house, so I was in a dilemma.  NO WAY were they getting to go to their locker to get that almighty pencil.  So I delved out a few shiny new pencils just to get something done.  Meanwhile, I am handing out these pencils right as my principal walks in to bust one of my kids for what I can only assume had something to do with his locker and illegal substances.  I know he had bigger fish to fry than my handing out of pencils, but I wonder what his stance is on the topic [or how it is handled site wide for that face, hmmm, staff meeting agenda item?!?].

But what SHOULD I have done.  Is middle school an acceptable age to start the "too bad, so sad" mentality?  No pencil, no work.  But then they get exactly what they want, to get out of work.  And hey, you would think a grade might persuade them to do something, but bottom line, it does not.  Middle school you fight not only the students perception of grades being important, and in my experience, you also fight the parents on occasion.  These two-three years are seen as complete throw away years by too many.  Kids know that these grades have little effect on their lives, and if they also hear that message from home, well, then there you go.

So, do I supply pencils?  Make extra copies of the handouts and notebooks when they do not bring theirs to class?  Or do I let them sit there, take the F, and call it a day?  Because they need to learn some how, some way, that the world is not always going to supply them for their unpreparedness, and is this the way to do it?  Last year, this issue was minimal, and I seemed able to put out the fires with ease.  But man, this group is killing me when it comes to being prepared, and even though it is the fourth quarter, I need to figure out my attack plan for the next seven or so weeks.

Thoughts?  Suggestions?  Or maybe this post will just turn into one big rhetorical rant, and I'm ok with that too.

[image from this ten on ten, when I had pencils in my classroom]

life lately

according to my phone

[1] seeing as how we showed up to our birthing class today an hour early

[because I didn't really check the time too closely]

the mr. and I had time for a little coffee date

and since this was officially the first coffee drink my husband has had

it was a photo moment for sure

and yes, this is how we prepare for parenting

[2] still feeling pretty zen after our birthing class today

wish I could say the same for the other women in the class

a few looked like they were going to cry in the bathroom during our first break

[3] nursery is getting there & I'm loving it

[4] you may be thinking we are super prepared parents to be

but really, the mr. just finished another tattoo [as seen in image one]

[5] trying to get caught up on grading and my overall motivation in the classroom

four weeks to go, four weeks

[6] still trying to think outside the box for my two English classes

and I've also decided that I'm a history teacher through and through

go figure

happy saturday

I've got myself positioned on the sofa, and I'm thinking 

that's exactly where I'm staying for the duration of the evening

sometimes you just have to think of the simplest thing

reading and following directions is hard

at least, that's what it seems like every time I'm in the classroom

I work very hard to make sure every lesson is clear

and expectations are clearer

however, there are those times when I need my students to be able to complete a project

or assignment with multiple steps

and being able to read and follow directions is key

but I'm finding that even in middle school I am having to teach very simple

direction following skills

in the past I have given directions with a nice little numbering system

to let them know the order in which to complete the steps

however, even this has not always proven to be successful 

this week I stumbled onto something so simple

and it actually worked

give them a check list to complete while working on the project

I'm telling you, that little line where they actually "check off" as they go

made my life so much easier

and for the most part, it seemed to be the best my kids have ever

independently followed written directions

there must be something to the hand to paper connection as they go

or maybe it is just "interactive" enough to keep them focussed

whatever it is, I'm doing it again

here's just one example of our "Good vs. Evil" character comparison posters

from the story we read this week

and yes, guns can be "school appropriate" if found in our literature

or history lesson

so there you go

sunday's "so they said" [back for another school year]

we've been back in school for almost a month

and it is time to get back into "so they said"

one of my favorite quotes from this week was when I heard a student say

"I think I do more art in history than I do in art class."

I'm glad they are loving the art integration, but I'm curious as to what art class look likes.

This week I also realized that teaching ancient history and the middle ages

is harder for kids to grasp the concept of exactly

how long ago we are talking about

and I'm thinking I need to take some time doing some type of timeline activity

I think I remember doing something with receipt tape

and spreading it across the room, so I'll get back to you on that one

once I figure it all out

and here is the quote that made me realize I need to back the bus up

when doing acrostic poems on the Roman Empire

I came across the line for the letter "m"

"Most Romans had cars."

oh, ok

well that's good

at least most Romans had cars

overall I feel the project went well

the poems worked as an assessment piece for the chapter

[some got it, some didn't - obviously]

and the mosaics went perfectly with the project

but I'm also glad that I caught the confusion

because I think everyone could use a little time reference

because I was also asked

"Are we still in the Middle Ages?"

sure, it was our very first day of the unit so I'm good with this question

here's to making pre-teens realize the difference between old, and old-old

have a great rest of the weekend - now it is time for me to get ready for my baby shower!

so excited to see everyone and celebrate miss everly mae