I am so very excited for this new semester. Not only because I finally feel like my feet are wet, but I feel equipped to truly dive into teaching.
I spent all of today making my plan for the rest of January, February, and the beginning of March. It is far from being set in stone, especially because things can change so quickly in a middle school, but I have such a sense of urgency about getting through it all! There is so much necessity to making sure my kids get the most of class this quarter, and that they really shine as the superstars that they are.
The 6th graders and I will tackle vocabulary strategies that will be used as we read Holes by Louis Sachar. They will also begin participating in a pen-pal exchange with some students in Spain! One of my greatest friends from college, Tonya, is teaching English to upper elementary students in Seville. They will be writing letters to my students in Oklahoma and send pictures. We will return the favor and hopefully begin a memorable cross-cultural exchange!
The 7th graders will also work on vocabulary strategies and dive into The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. This will involve some intense prerequisite work on the Holocaust -- a gap in knowledge I have noticed among my students. It's such an important time in history, and the true story of Anne Frank will certainly be impactful for them.
The 8th graders will largely focus on writing. Every class will be advancing in the Writer's Workshop program TPS is instituting, which focuses on Narratives. My 8th graders will also do an intensive study of non-fiction expository writing in preparation for their state writing test in late February. It will be similar to the writing unit I did with my 8th graders over the summer, but hopefully much improved since we have a little more time! To also build some reading strategies and a general breadth of knowledge, they will also do some nonfiction reading...mostly short articles or excerpts from interesting memoirs.
I am so excited to embark on this semester. My scholars have district standardized tests this week, but I cannot wait to be done with those and on to our 2nd semester/3rd quarter.
Beyond teaching, life in Tulsa has been interesting as of late. I explored a romantic interest that absurdly failed. The whole experience, though, reminded me of what great friends and family I have, and just how important my career is. One reason I am also looking forward to this week and the start of the new semester is being able to be around my fantastic students, turn a new page, and continue to spend time with great friends.
At the start of 2010, I feel so lucky and so grateful. I feel empowered by my friends, colleagues, and students to make a real difference. I feel like this is going to be a great year.
~MJ
This was recently published in The Atlantic. The first video in the article is a legend in TFA...just ask any corps member:-)
What makes a good teacher? http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/201001/good-teaching
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