Weekly Reflection #5

Last week was a little hectic. We had picture day and college fair day (that I neglected to plan for), a test, a day at the library, double-entry journals, left over presentations, and midterms. In addition, my action research brief was due on Thursday. Yet as much as I have to take care of, things are more easily fitting into the combined system established by me, Mr. Conrad, and the collaborative teachers.

Speaking of collaboration, Friday was the last day for Ms. Sambol and Ms. Cappellini at UHS. Though we were not doing "true" collaboration, I'm appreciative of the experience we had planning class together over the past two weeks. We had a slight hiccup on Thursday of last week because of failure on my part to plan enough time for review and failure of the students to complete the study guide. Though Ms. Sambol and Ms. Cappellini and I have had few issues in communication during our experience together, Ms. Solly interpreted the situation differently and decided to facilitate a discussion of the study guide/test issue. After speaking with Ms. Sambol and Cappellini post-discussion, I think that a very manageable situation was exaggerated into a mini crisis. The issues in need of discussion were not sensitive to any of the parties involved, which is how Ms. Solly presented them during our meeting. Despite this, I am encouraged by our ability to work out this miscommunication and move on.

Week 5, five words: Remember to plan for pictures!
Things I'm excited about: grading double-entry journals, seriously. I want to see what my students think about the books they're reading.
Things I want to work on: Transitions in class...smoothness, making sure I'm teaching the content on the tests while still taking advantage of teachable moments, establishing a voice level that doesn't strain my throat. :)