Read 180 finally went today. The software was up and and running, the sounds worked on the computers, I was able to show the intro video, and we were actually able to have class. Those of you who had day 7 of school in the pool, you win a cookie.
In an effort to keep my classes all on track, for 2 of my classes I did a marathon writing activity. The activity consisted of all students choosing a topic, word, phrase, or some sort of "prompt" that they would like to write or read about. Topics varied from "sharks" to "my favorite person" to "a futuristic society". I did this activity with two classes, and I was very happy with how it went. The students wrote for the entire period on varying topics! Students at SHS wrote for roughly 50+ minutes, and from what I could tell, enjoyed it! At certain points I gave students an opportunity to read their writing. For my first class, students were very quiet after the first couple of topics were chosen, but as the close went on and we did more writing, many students shared their writing and students who are usually very reserved began to share. I started out by sharing what I wrote to some topics, and I was real and vulnerable. I think this may have opened up the door to help them share and not have any fear about it. In my other English 12 class, which is the last class of the day and is the typical last class of the day (teachers, you know what I mean), students shared immediately, and the topic didn't matter. They wrote and shared everything, even the students who complained about having to write and appeared too cool for it. They truly enjoyed it, and it was a fantastic way for me to get to know more about my students.
My English 12 class that has the chromebooks had to play catchup today because of the snags we have had with technology. Today was just another day in that struggle. An update was sent out during my class that took Google Drive off the chromebooks, which in essence made them about as useful as a paperweight. I was told this was fixed a few hours later, but it really fubared my plans and the ability for my students to be able to submit work to me. I keep telling myself it will all eventually work itself out and the IT people will figure out which switches do what, but until then, we get to be the experimental marionettes.
PD was next, and it was on pacing. There was a beginning, a middle, and an end, so it was most likely effective.
Today was cut day for soccer. I hate cut day, whether it is in club or high school, it is always a very hard day. I am extremely excited for this season and the group of guys we have for our teams. Although it truly exhausts me to get through a day at times, something about walking out to that pitch puts a little more bounce in my step and for a couple hours, everything makes sense, and I forget I don't have prep tomorrow.
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