A Teacher's Summer

Interspersed with trips to the water park, a short vacation, ball games, and other summer activities, I am already working on next year. And that is the life of a teacher.

What might most teachers be doing in the summer?

*Cleaning out files.  (Sometimes, actually filing all those loose papers we didn't get to during the year. Or is that just me??)

*Weeding out supplies: markers and pens that don't work any more, dried up glue sticks, tape dispensers that have "lost" their inner core, recycling paper and magazines that aren't needed, cleaning out all the excess in cupboards and drawers, and pitching all the lost and found items that weren't claimed.

*Planning for new teaching assignments and making lessons for the first weeks of school. (Three new assignments next year:  Speech, Drama, and Forensics. These require a different kind of planning than Sophomore English, but I'm on the hunt for all kinds of new activities!)

*Researching blogs and websites for new lesson planning ideas or classroom management techniques.  Some favorites:  Edudemic, AchievetheCore, Dr. Curtis Chandler, Edutopia, Teachers.net, ReadWriteThink, and WeAreTeachers.
  (Best resource for finding new ideas: Twitter.)

*Designing needed methods of tracking data (Spreadsheets, Google Docs, etc.)--and it would be oh so helpful if Excel were working this summer.

*Writing shared formative and summative assessments for classes.

*Tweaking class notebooks in English II.  (Between Standard's Based Grading and Interactive Notebooks, I'm not sure which was the best addition to my classes last year.)

If I plan and work now, next year will be much less stressful.

Oh, and I really need to select next spring's All School Production.  If I leave it until after school starts, I will be hunting the show over Christmas Break. Then, I really will be rushed and unprepared at the start of 2nd semester.

June, July, and August.  These days, I consider them an extended Plan Period.

Working On the New Classroom

My custodians took the door off of my new classroom so that they could take the scissor lift in.  The ceilings are so high that they needed the lift to clean the light fixtures and replace some ceiling tiles.

I jumped on the chance to use the lift. (An opportunity available only every 4-5 years.)  They helped me hang a couple of pieces on the front walls of my classroom.  (OK. It might have taken the five of them plus me to do it!)

Custodians, cooks, secretaries...

these are the people that keep our schools afloat.

I couldn't function without them.

I am assuming that the crew will be working on my floors and then moving some furniture from my old classroom into this new room.  I am trying to stay out of their hair for now.  Besides taking them breakfast, that is probably the best gift that I can give them.

Let's hear it for great support personnel!

End of the Year

I love teaching.  I love the fact that there is a beginning, middle and an end to my job.

That being said, the end of the year wears.me.out.!

To begin with, it would be easier to keep track of who is in class than who is absent.  Everyone is absent.  There are track meets, tennis meets, softball games, baseball games, golf meets, field trips, state music competitions, high honor roll trips, etc., etc., etc.!

Thus, there are many students who need to turn in late work.  I spend quite a bit of time, grading late work.

I also grade notebooks for the final time, and grade final projects and final essays. The students need to put their portfolios together and clean out their classroom folders.  Checking in books and chasing down students who still owe me classroom library books or textbooks becomes a regular part of lunch or plan period.

There are finals to write and grade, Accelerated Reader points to add to the nine weeks grades, and submitting one final copy of all grades to the office.

Then there is a checklist that requires initials from the librarian, lunch lady, two secretaries, and one principal.

This year, you can throw into the mix the fact that I had to pack up one classroom to move to another.   I don't know how many trips I made, but more than I care to count.  Even with quite a few students roped into helping, I wore a little path in the hallway.

With three new preps and a new classroom to get ready, I think it is safe to say that I will spend some of my summer at school or working on school things at home.

My last day was Thursday, and I have already put in 12 hours at school.  I finished the move. (My old classroom is completely empty of my things, except a couple of furniture pieces that the custodians will be moving for me.) I have also cleaned out a huge prop/costume closet and a couple of cupboards that I needed for storage. (Merging two classrooms is work!) I have completed a little (huge size wise, little work wise) art project for the front of my new classroom.  Today, I actually began organizing my desk drawers.

I'm not sure whether to consider this the end of one year or the beginning of the next.  I just know that I am going to enforce a strict no-schoolwork rule for at least a couple of weeks this summer.  Otherwise, next year might be a really long year!

Rock Stars of Education

At Christmas time our Central Office hosts a Holiday Open House.  When teachers and employees enter, we put our name on a piece of paper for drawings.

One gift our Superintendent gave away this year was "One Free Day of Subbing."  One elementary and one Middle/High School teacher would take off any day of their choice, and it wouldn't be charged to sick leave, family leave, or personal days. She would be their sub for the day. Amazing!  Even more amazing, she drew my name.

Friday, I am pretty sure I had the most highly qualified substitute teacher in our state.  While I was enjoying a new granddaughter, she was my sub.  She had time to talk to my high school students and colleagues.  She spent a day in the trenches, reminding herself of the work her teachers do. I know my students benefited from having her there, but I'm even more sure that every teacher in our district benefited from the day she put in as a teacher.

Reflecting on that day, I am reminded that she spends a great deal of time in our schools. She greets students, visits classes, and is interested in the lives of her employees. She understands us because she makes a regular practice of trying to stay in touch with her schools, students, and employees.

Is she a rock star or what?

First World Problems

I mentioned that I will be switching rooms next year, right?  The room I am moving to is one of my favorite rooms in our school.  That's the good news.

The bad news?  Anyone who has a key to our school auditorium has a key to my room and my huge prop closet where my file cabinet will be stored. (Why, you might ask?  My room is the passing area behind stage.  One key allows access to all areas stage related.)

The really bad news?  I don't have a file cabinet that locks.  (Which of course isn't near as bad as my student-teacher-soon-to-be-colleague who doesn't have file cabinet at all.)

It hasn't been lost on me that all of my files, tests, etc. will be easily accessible to anyone with a key.

The good news?  There is one wooden coat closet/cupboard that locks.  I will be the only person with the key to it.

So what am I doing?  After searching on Pinterest for some kind of answer, I am cleaning out my file cabinet and creating notebooks of all the units that I teach.  I save what I want and keep a copy for my student-teacher-soon-to-be-colleague and am throwing out the rest.

My file cabinet will still hold old units or files from classes that I no longer teach.  (Though I am sorting through all of that, too.) I am hoping that what is left only takes up one or two drawers of my huge cabinet.  The rest will be used for script storage.

Each of my new unit notebooks holds page protectors where I store tests, activities/exercises, and copies of assignments.  I will be able to pull out what I need to use.  Everything should be easy to find.

The early stages of this project

When I move to my new room, these notebooks will be stored on a shelf in my locking closet/cupboard.  Did I mention that I will have the only key? With a great deal of work and quite a bit of downsizing, I will have curriculum security again. The best solution to a fairly crummy problem.

How much work is this?  I spent six hours and managed to sort and store 4 units.  (Two of them were really small units.) And my trash can was full.

I'm not sure how many days this is going to take, but I am sure it will be worth it.  I'm also sure that when I retire (5-8 years away?), I will be quite glad that I did this work now. (Less to throw away then!)

Spring Break,Twitter, and Teaching Changes

Spring Break has been wonderfully relaxing.  After finishing the All School Production on the Thursday and Friday before break, I spent the beginning of break collapsed.  (Actually, I rallied in time to celebrate my husband's 60th birthday and spend time with my daughters, their husbands, and my adorable grandkids.)

Of course, school is never far from my mind. Twitter has become my "go to" place for ideas and for answers to questions. Edutopia, Edudemic, WeAreTeachers, and Achievethecore are just a few of my favorites. I am beginning to connect with some other Secondary ELA teachers, and their ideas inspire.

This next nine weeks of school will fly by with State Testing and the end of the year hubbub.  (You can add in the fact that my oldest daughter/boss is expecting their 2nd child at the end of April. I am ready for that little bundle to arrive!) It will go especially fast this year, as on top of everything else, I am changing rooms and subjects next year.

Our administration has decided to do some rearranging of our English staff.  By splitting classes, we will work with another teacher and be able to compare class results to improve our teaching skills.  I will be teaching Sophomore English for three hours and speech and drama for the other three hours. I think all of us have concerns, but I also think there is the potential to really strengthen our department, too.

The concerns:
*For the first time in 33 years, I won't have every sophomore that goes through our school.  It will be strange not knowing the majority of the students in our high school.

*Leaving behind my beautiful classroom with carpet and lots of light from big windows will be difficult.

*The physical part of moving a whole classroom is a bit overwhelming.  It will involve a lot of work and hours of time packing, organizing, and decorating a new classroom.

*Planning for Speech, Drama, and Forensic classes will require quite a bit of work prior to the start of the year.

These concerns are outweighed by some of the perks:

*Less paper grading.  With half the number of English students, I will have half the number of papers.  It is hard to be sad about that!

*I am moving into an awesome room with a stage. It is has always been one of my favorite rooms in our high school.  (But there are no windows and no carpet, which will remind me of pre-tornado days in our old school.)

*While the new classes will require different planning, it is the creative kind of planning that I enjoy.  I will begin working on new curriculum after break. (I have spent part of break searching for resources.)

So this spring break has been filled with Twitter, researching new curriculum, and trying to cram in all the things I love: hiking, a manicure and pedicure, time with my daughters and grandkids, shopping, movies, and relaxing meals out with my husband.  I've caught up on sleep, and I think I am ready for the end of this school year. I actually feel pretty refreshed and ready to go!

PS. This blog is about to become an English/Speech and Drama blog. Stay tuned!

Desk Arrangements

I have come to believe that mixing up desks and seating arrangements is beneficial to learning.  Desks in small groups, in pairs, in a big circle, or even two straight lines can be useful to different lessons.

I use groups of four desks the most often.  This arrangement is great for group projects or small discussions. Everyone can see the teacher and the front board. It also makes my room look much larger.

To begin the year, I like to put the students in pairs.  Frequently, they work with someone they might not know that well and if I mix up the pairs often enough, my classes become acquainted quickly. (There are two ways to do pairs, either side by side or face to face. I've used both at different times.)

A circle of desks works well for Socratic Circles, but the students love one big circle for reading plays aloud, too.  I've tried it with writing days, but have quickly found the importance of being able to see everyone's computer screen at all times. (Don't ask!)

This is a small circle for Socratic Circles.

Two straight lines facing each other work well for face-off discussions, and also for passing writings or other projects up and down the rows from student to student. This way they have a chance to see their peer's work. Leaving the project, writing, or computer on the desk and having the students move also works well.

Finally, I use traditional rows of desks for final exam days and for writing days.  My desk is in the back of the room so while students are facing away from me, I can see everyone's screen. This works great on writing days.  On exam days, I work from the front of the room or walk around.

In order for these arrangements to work, I have created cardboard barriers for testing/quiz days. They can test in almost every room arrangement by putting up the cardboard barriers, if they are needed. (Mine are tri-fold displays cut in two, though I've heard pizza boxes work well, too.)

I project new seating arrangements on my document reader for everyone to see.  Students know where to sit when they enter the room. (I can't imagine the chaos if they waited for me to seat them.) If you make your seating chart with sticky notes, it is easy to change your seating arrangements. I am forever grateful to the cute, young colleague who taught me this trick!  I also like to use the computer seating chart that comes with our grade book program and has photos of students.  (I'm pretty sure subs love this one, too.)

Oh, almost forgot one.  We don't watch videos very often.  In fact, I rarely show a full movie, but the Friday before break I was showing them bits and pieces (mainly the stabbing and the battle scenes) of Julius Caesar. This was a popular arrangement, though we could have used some popcorn. (There were four rows like this.)

Does it take work to switch it up?  Yes, a little.  Is it worth it? Definitely.

My favorite quote of the year? Upon seeing yet another arrangement of desks one student said,  "Mrs. E, you gotta get a new hobby."

But the most surprising??  My custodian loves cleaning my room.  I guess they need a change once in awhile, too.

Want more seating arrangements or seating chart ideas? Click on the seating arrangement label in the sidebar.