Thursday, August 30, 2012

Day II Lesson: Patience

The school year, though only fourteen hours old, is already teaching us more than was scripted.  While we were busy working on outlining story maps from the summer reading novels, exploring hundreds charts, and learning about long, long, ago in history, unplanned lessons of the year were emerging. Though the planbook called for the boys to register for Edmodo, a site we will be using for project assignments and collaborative activities, and to view several slideshows created by students last year on PhotoPeach for next week's digital assignment, other lessons crept in.
Patience. 
It first shone through yesterday while students worked on our classroom challenge puzzles. Nine puzzle pieces, with repeating images,  solved through trial and error (four line up, but the final five need to be rearranged)...and trial and error (three do not fit)...and trial and error (as eight line up, but the final piece has no slot)...Watching the students' steady persistence pushed a critically important aspect of the learning process into the limelight: frustration. Learning how to plot out a new story web, locating a "double-digit even number with the sum of twelve and the difference of zero" on a hundreds chart, registering for a new website to retrieve an assignment which requires access of another website with a unique login, or correctly arranging stingrays in a 3x3 puzzle all create a great deal of frustration--and learning. While well-supported articles are stressing the trouble our young generation has with delayed gratification, I have been impressed with the patience already displayed by these Ninth Agers, and I am eager to see what lessons hour fifteen of the school year brings.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

First Day of School



Today was a terrific start of the school year for the Ninth Age boys! We were busy reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, exploring our classroom, learning Ninth Age routines and procedures, and trying out the new playground. This year promises to be a good one!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Survey Responses

I have really enjoyed learning more about you from your suvey answers, so I thought I would include one of my answers today! I have one pet, a dog named Lance. Usually we call him "Lou," and he especially enjoys a sip of coffee in the morning. He has become quite accustomed to sleeping in this summer, so I am sure the wake-up time on the first day of school will be a suprise for him! I look forward to seeing everyone next week!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Welcome to 9-1!

Welcome letters will arrive shortly, and I am eagerly counting down the days until August 29th! I look forward to getting to know the members of our 9-1 class in a few short weeks, but I always enjoy learning some "fun facts" about each student before the first handshake of the new school year! Feel free to complete the survey below, and I'll post some of my answers in the next few weeks to share a bit about myself before the year begins.