Spring has sprung, I suppose. The kids are bouncing off the walls when they're not hunched over their desks, laboring over a love poem or daydreaming while I drag them through a language arts lesson. Yes, for the last few days I've felt that I'm literally dragging them through the nonfiction reading, then dumping a pile of comprehension questions on them.
The VP did a walkthrough with a VIP yesterday, and what were we doing? I had gotten tired of talking over them (I haven't yet developed that room-quelling loud-teacher voice), so I told them to write me a 1-page reflection. I cringed a little as my two visitors examined the questions on the board, which included "What are the expectations for 4th-graders?" and "Why is reading important for your future?"
During my drive to work, I reflected on how quickly the school year is coming to an end -- just about a month, really. I asked myself how I wanted to spend that month: stressed-out and grumpy or working hard but keeping things in perspective? I decided that I wanted to enjoy my last month with my fourth-graders. It's hard to imagine on some days, but I know I will miss them.
This is one of the roughest parts of the year, I think. I've noticed a precipitous drop in my students' vocabulary test scores. While even my most struggling students would score a 2 or 3 out of 10 in previous quarters, a bunch of them have been pulling down 0s. Understandable for those who are chronically behind on homework and classwork, but painful to see for those kids who I know are doing all their work. I reflected on it during the weekend and decided I needed to start discussing the words daily with students. It was something that I did consistently at the start of the year, but it fell to the roadside a while ago. It does take time and some prompting, but I'm hoping it will help students retain the words better. I also started having them draw pictures to represent the words. I'm crossing my fingers for better results on Friday's test.
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