Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts- Tahoe Edition

[from my walk/hike the second day]

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1. I just got back from Lake Tahoe last night, so instead of doing a separate post I decided to just use this one. I went with a few colleagues for work for IB training and the specific workshop I attended with my good friend was focusing on something called the Extended Essay, which is a 4,000 word essay our kids write on pretty much anything they're interested in. It's an area of weakness at our site, so the two of us have been tasked with sort of revamping this part of the program.

2. I left on Saturday, after a very hectic day. I was supposed to leave for the airport at 10 in the morning to fly up with the others, but Sawyer wasn't feeling great and I had to take him to urgent care. It was one of those "you have to make the call RIGHT now" sort of situations and so I opted to take a later flight that left at four so I could get everything sorted out with him. We got him fixed up perfectly and he was completely fine by the time I left of the airport, so that really was the most important thing. My day of travel ended up much longer than originally planned, though, including a three-hour layover in Oakland and an hour drive from the Reno airport to Lake Tahoe in the pitch dark at 10:30 that night when I finally got arrived (I also had to pay for the rental since the district will only reimburse one car and obviously that goes to the people that made the correct flight). But, everyone was safe and happy so we'll call it a win. Plus I finally got to try Fenton's Creamery on my layover after hearing about it many times before from Bay Area friends.

[this was me, for hours]

3. The workshop itself is great- IB trainings are the best professional developments I've ever gone to. Our instructor was knowledgable, the other participants were smart and interesting, and it cleared up some questions we had. I love hearing about where people are from- at our table alone there was a teacher from The Cayman Islands, a teacher-librarian from a prestigious private school in Manhattan, and a woman from a small town close to where I grew up). 

4. It was also a little overwhelming- we have our work cut out for us (we are also taking over a new class, on top of this and teaching English, but I'm not thinking about that right now). But my philosophy is that as long as we are making improvements and setting a few attainable goals to focus on we are headed in the right direction.

[Lake Tahoe, from Tahoe City]

5. I have come to the conclusion that I am a good traveler [pats self on back]. I deal with roadblocks, I'm flexible, I enjoy taking in the local scene, and I am cool with letting others do their own thing. I stay positive and am always just thankful for an opportunity to get out of the area where I live. And I never panic about getting lost (go-go Google Maps!). Granted I'm probably a pain of the ass when I am actually home, but when I leave I'm your girl to hit the road with.

6. Between the two free afternoons I hiked/walked about twelve miles from the hotel where we stayed to Lake Tahoe and on part of the lake path. The first day I was with my friend and the second day I wanted to go back, so I went alone. Unfortunately, I didn't want to check baggage so I went without hiking or tennis shoes and did all of this in my Toms. My feet, whose shortcomings I think I've sufficiently bitched about before, were pissed. They made me pay dearly for this by yesterday afternoon, but it was worth it. There was no way I was going to Lake Tahoe and not taking advantage of the scenery.

[it's so ugly there, God]

7. I had a few hours in the evening on Sunday and Monday to myself and was able to finish The Girls by Emma Cline and start The Vacationers by Emma Straub (two very different books). 

8. I missed my home and family, of course, but I really did enjoy the brief time away. I slept better than I have slept since having Sawyer- no joke. I didn't have to vacuum, feed dogs, unload the dishwasher, change diapers, cook dinner, or do any other the other domestic tasks that I have to each day. I was able to sit down and read for an hour straight without being interrupted and was able to get through several meals without stopping to help someone else. I know this probably sounds self-indulgent to some, but I frankly don't care. I desperately needed a few days to myself and it was just what I needed to recharge. 

9. I think part of the reason why I was content to leave and be alone for three nights was because things were fine at home. Scott had Sawyer during the weekend and they had a blast going to the toy store and eating McDonalds and watching Zootopia. My mother-in-law came over Monday and Tuesday and the two of them got along like gangbusters. I left six or so pages of notes and was available all day to text. Everyone, and the house, stayed in one piece.  

10. Our trip back was a little long, since there was a bit of a storm going through parts of Nevada. Our flight from Las Vegas back home to Ontario (as in Ontario, California not Canada) was late to board and then we sat on the plane for quite a while (first because they were behind loading luggage because of the lightning and then because some sort of wind pocket was noticed as we were taxiing). Eventually we got home and Sawyer was so excited to see me, and I him. 

The 2014-2015 School Year

In many ways, this was the most challenging school year I've even been through, in my nine years of teaching. I started over with a new group of students (I have my kids for 2-3 years at a time), was on a Common Core Committee that sucked up a lot of time (patience and energy), and was trying to figure out how to balance it all with my new responsibility at home (who wasn't letting me get more than 6 hours of broken sleep, on a good night). But I think that it was actually for the best, as it made me extensively reflect on how I run my classroom, the professional goals and priorities I have, and as well as how I spend my time at home. 

I was pretty heartbroken when the Class of 2014 graduated; I was close to many of the students and after spending so much time together they understood what I expected and I understood what they were capable of. I didn't get to properly end the year, since I left at the end of April on maternity leave, which made starting back last August a little awkward. It took me a little longer than normal to get back into the swing of things, but by October or so I felt like I knew my classes a bit better and had found my rhythm once again. The kids continued to grow on me and realized they were just as quirky and lovable as my old group. I am very thankful to teach IB students and hope that no one ever tries to break apart out English team; we've been very successful and I feel like I've found my niche.  

I knew that I wouldn't have the same amount of time to devote to grading this year, so I streamlined a lot of things in my classroom, which I think worked out for the best for me and the students. IB is a college prep class, and mountains of what they love to call "busy work" isn't helpful for them (they cheat) or me (I have to grade it). I had the kids do notebooks for each of the six works we read and graded the assignments in them intermittently. I  had one at-home paper per book, timed writes a few Fridays a month, a few projects/presentations per unit, and a culminating essay test at the  end of whatever we were reading. As a whole my students had decent grades and they turned in a lot of their work, once they realized I don't mess around with my late-work policy. I saw improvement and, at the end of the day (or year), that's all I want.

Another thing that I tried to do this year was to be a little more empathetic towards our administrators, one of which was new, this year. I think that there are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes that we don't get; reasons why they're not on campus (meetings, meetings and more meetings), can't provide us with things we want (categorical budget restrictions/red tape), or why the make certain decisions (district office pressure). Don't worry, I'm not a kiss-ass, I just get that things are hard at the top. I'm one to notice when there are screw ups, so I figure you just have to keep it fair. Once upon a time I considered this career route, but the more I learned about what it entailed the more I decided it wasn't for me.

I've also tried to get know some of my colleagues better, since I have a feeling I'll be at this site for awhile. Our department book club has been a great way of doing this, as has been simply willing to stop in the halls or quad and chat with people instead of plowing through like I'm on a mission (that still happens!). I've tried to put aside judgement of what I've heard of their teaching abilities or what the kids say- I'm not their evaluator! 

Next year will most likely be a bit easier, since Sawyer will be older, the kids and I will be more in sync, and there are rumors that the committee I've been on is changing (that's yet to be seen). But for the next nine weeks? It's summer! 

"Master Harold"... and the boys Lessons

The past five or so weeks my students have been studying the play "Master Harold"... and the boys (yes, the title is supposed to be written out like that, much to my chagrin) by Athol Fugard. As I did previously with The Catcher in the Rye, here are a few of the more high-interest lessons I did with my students that try to combine some Common Core-ish elements.

Visual Literacy (30 minutes)

To introduce the play and the Apartheid background I collected a dozen or so different pictures into a PowerPoint. For each picture I had the students discuss what was happening and how the picture would relate to the book. We then discussed each as a class and finished the lesson with the students writing a brief reflection in their notebooks. Next time I'll extend the lesson by having the students find their own picture and post it, along with a quick analysis, on the website we use for the class.

Skills: critical analysis, oral production, visual literacy

Understanding Stage Directions (50 minutes)

In order to examine the stage directions, and their importance, I brought in an episode of Friends (the one where Monica where's a turkey on her head to cheer up Chandler). Fun fact: the episode aired the year they were born. Sigh. We watched a three minute clip twice and I had the students write down everything the actors were doing- facial expressions, interactions with props, body language, etc... We discussed their findings and then watched a clip of the movie of the play, doing the same thing. Students were then asked to find stage directions in the text that they thought were critical. 

Skills: Observation/listening, note-taking, reading comprehension, discussion

Scene Presentations

One of our culminating activities were scene presentations. Students had to get into groups and write five-minute scenes that took a contemporary controversial issue and applied it to a friendship, just like race and The Apartheid did for Sam and Hally in the text. They had to use stage direction, props, proper play-writing formats, etc... in order to convey their message. They also had to each find an opinion article on the topic they chose and complete a series of writing activities to analyze it (annotation, SOAPSTone, and a rhetorical precis).

Skills: writing, acting, analysis, research, annotation 

Final Essay- Comparison

Students were tasked with finding another piece of writing, movie, TV show, painting, song, or poem to compare to the play. They had to find a specific thematic element, though, to focus on. They're not due until next week, but so far topics include The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Billy Joel song, Tupac's poetry, and the TV show Blackish. This should be entertaining, at least.

Skills: analytical writing, reading comprehension, compare/contrast

For those that haven't read it, I highly recommend it!

 

Catcher in the Rye Lessons

And I mean lessons as in things you can do with your students, not like the life ones. 

I am in no way turning this into a teacher blog (ew), but I do plan on occasionally posting some of the more interesting lessons I do with my students this year. I always do some of the basics with each book we read- themes, symbols, motifs, background on author, some literary criticism, character analysis, author's style, etc... I also try to do a few more "fun" lessons that connects the students to the text in different ways and allows them an alternative way of showing knowledge, as opposed to an essay or test.

I'm not one of those awesome teachers that are constantly creating new, exciting lessons that drive their students crazy with exciting. I don't dress up in costumes or rap. Sorry. I am consistent, though, and try to make the content I deliver interesting and get my students to actively participate every day. They do well and we usually end up liking, or at least tolerating, each other, so I think this works for me. These lessons aren't anything groundbreaking, but maybe something a little different for some (and boring as hell to others). 

With Common Core upon us, I try to integrate those standards into what I'm doing as well (integrating Common Core into the IB curriculum is an interesting discussion, which I'll save for another day). Basically, how can we connect a work of fiction to supplemental nonfiction material? And integrate writing and speaking? 

I do my best.

Here are three lessons/projects/tasks that my students seem to have enjoyed that, to some degree (some more than others) integrate the new standards.

Diagnosing Holden

In order to get students on-board, they first read a quick handout on teenage depression and determine eight symptoms/causes that apply to Holden Caulfield, filling out a graphic organizer that calls for analysis and textual evidece. Then, students are required to write a 800-1,000 word psychiatrist's report (they're taking on the role of a mental health practitioner) evaluating Holden's mental state. They must write it in a report-like format, use textual support from the novel, and must research mental health illnesses to determine which one they think he suffers from (if any at all). Students must include background, symptoms, treatment, and prognosis sections. They are encouraged to include supplemental information like brain scans, interviews, and anything else they can come up with to strengthen their case. Depending on time, students will either present their findings to the class, small group, or partner.

Skills: research, using the text as evidence, writing a report, analysis of fiction and non-fiction text, creativity, oral presentation 

Boarding Schools

Students are asked to research the effects boarding schools have on children and teenagers, finding at least two semi-recent articles. Students must annotate both articles fully and finish a "SOAPSTone" (an AVID strategy) and rhetorical precis. Students must then determine their own stance, and use evidence from the novel and articles to support their claims. Students will write a one-page response in their notebooks, expressing their own opinions. After this has been finished, students will participate in a Socratic Seminar (fancy word for "class discussion") in which they discuss whether or not boarding schools are positive or negative institutions and how they impacted Holden.

Skills: research, in-depth analysis of both nonfiction and fiction texts, debate and discussion skills

Episodic Narrative (the "Picaresque Novel")- Charades*

After giving the class information about what a episodic/picaresque novel is, students then brainstorm a list of episodes that occurred in the novel. Students are then placed in groups and are given a card with their episode on it. They must discuss the significance of it in the text and then act out the scene silently (beware for hysterics, and inappropriateness, with the Sunny/Maurice scene). After the class guesses what scene they performed, the group discusses the importance while the rest of the class takes notes in a graphic organizer

Skills: analysis, creativity, public speaking

* This is obviously a lighter activity- it makes for something nice to do after a heavy couple of days, during a weird schedule, or as a sort of review before the test