Well, today is Wednesday. No, I didn't become unstuck in time, although that would be cool occasionally. Our mayor and almost every school in a 40 miles radius panicked about predicted cold temps of -20 or worse, and school was cancelled. We didn't get that low, but the decision was already made. This made my white day a Wednesday rough, which is always longer due to no prep and cluster.
This was my first white day where my blended class met virtually and that I was at school. I was a big fan of this as I don't get a prep on white days and this helps alleviate that burden. This was a beneficial time where I had a few students who were behind come in and we were able to get caught up and have some solid discussions about the book. In my other English 12 classes, we discussed one Mr. Roland Weary and how much of a, well, tool he really is when we first meet him in Slaughter-House. We compared and contrasted Roland and Billy and made some predictions about what we think may happen in the remaining part of the chapter.
In creative writing, we began a two day start replacement poems. Today, I chose a poem titled "Snow Day" by Chris Collins, and I took out all of the verbs. We discussed as a class how verbs have power and how they can change around writing. I had them fill in the blanks (the verbs I took out) with verbs of their own choosing. I didn't let them read the poem first as to not influence their verb choice. I then had them get in partners and read their poems to each other, then we discussed them as a class. We had a bit of time left, so I have them write for 10 minutes straight on any of their writing territories. Some thought this would be hard to write so long, but once they started they had no trouble continuing their writings. The next time we meet, they will have to replace all the nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in a poem with their own. Should be fun!
Cluster had some interesting parts today. At times, it had the feeling our group leaders were going to make a script for us to teach a concept. I am sure my face didn't hide my disdain. Also, they want us to teach part of a concept that needs the whole concept to make sense. It would be the equivalent to asking a kid to tie his shoes, but only teaching him step 1, and ignoring steps 2 and 3. I don't know how to adequately break up this concept as it all is needed to effectively teach the kids how to respond correctly. It can be frustrating at times. I know and believe the strategy is a great strategy, but this baby step approach across so many weeks is difficult for me to accept.
Lastly, I wore a shirt today symbolizing The Counte of Monte Cristo. Not a single student had ever heard of it. I fear for our future.
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